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GENERAL VIEW 


OP THE 



’ AND 


CURIOSITIES OF NATIONS 


INCLUDING 

A GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION 
OF THE EARTH. 

THE WHOLE ILLUSTRATED BY FIFTY-FOUR JIAPS AND 
OTHER ENGRAVINGS. 

IN TWO,VOLUMES. 

BY THE REV. J. GOLDSMITH, A ' 

Vicar of Dunuington, and formerly of Trinity College, Cambridge 


VOL. II. 


KEW-HAVE^t: 

PUBLISHED BY JOHN BABCOCK & SOJ\. 


Sidney’s press. 








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MANNERS, CUSTOMS, 

AND 

CURIOSITIES OF NATIONS. 


EGYPT. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS, OF THE INHABITANS OF EGYPT. 

THE Egyptians, though adjacent to the Arabs, 
and governed in general, by similar laws, and pro¬ 
fessing the same religion, are very different in their 
manners and customs. They are distinguished into 
three classes, namely, the Copts, who are natives of 
the country and Christians, the Turks, and the Arabs. 
The women are very brown, but have lively eyes, 
their stature is above the middle size, their conver¬ 
sation is exceedingly tiresome. The men are of good 
size. The higher we ascend from Cairo, the natives 
become more tawny, till we arrive at the confines of 
Nubia, where they are almost black. Idleness and 
cowardice are said to be the principal vices of the 
Egyptians, Their chief employment through the 
day is drinking coffee, smoking tobacco, sleeping, 
and lounging about the streets. I'hey are very ig¬ 
norant, and yet they are puffed up with a fantastical 
vanity. Thougli they acknowledge that they have 
lost their ancient dignity, their skill in science, 
and in arms, their history, and even their original 
language, and that, from a valiant and illustrious na¬ 
tion, they have degenerated into slavery and coward- 



4 JDress^ Cifc. of the Egyptians. 

ice, yet such is the haughtiness of their disposition, 
that they affect to despise all other nations, and are 
exceedingly offended when any person advises them 
to send their children into Europe, to be instructed in 
the arts and sciences. 

Of the Dressy Manner of Salutation, Method of Tra¬ 
velling, and Houses of the Egyptians, 

The most simple dress of the men in Egypt con¬ 
sists only of a long shirt with wide sleeves, tied round 
the middle. The common people wear over this a 
brown wollen shirt, but those of better condition a 
long cloth coat, covered with a blue shirt hanging 
down to the middle of the leg. On festivals, and all 
extraordinary occasions, the upper shirt is white. 
They wear about their necks a blue cloth, with which 
they defend their heads from the severity of the 
weather. It is also a general custom among the 
merchants to wear a large blanket, either white or 
brown, in winter; and in summer a blue and white 
cotton sheet thrown over the left shoulder. The 
dress of women is not much unlike that of the men, 
only most of their garments are of silk. It being 
reckoned highly improper for a woman to shew the 
whole face, they generally cover the mouth and one 
eye. 

The Mahometans salute each other by^ kissing the 
hand, putting it to the head, and wishing peace. The 
salutation of the Arabs is by shaking hands, and 
bowing the head. Among the Copts, a son dare not 
sit down in the presence of his father, especially in 
public company, without being desired several times, 
and in no place of the world do people pay greater 
regard to the motions of their superiors. 

On a journey, the Egyptians set out early in the 
morning, w^alk their horses gently^ and often stop to 
refresh under a shade. If they do not travel in state. 


Man and Woman of Morocco. A Mameluke Woman. 
















































































































































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Egyptian Government, 5 

they carry a leathern bottle of water tied to the sad¬ 
dle ; but a person in the higher ranks has an attend¬ 
ing camel laden with water. At night they have large 
lanterns, stretched upon wires, carried before them. 
They seldom make use of tents, but lie in the open air. 

Men of quality ride on a saddled camel, and their 
attendants on camels loaded with carpets, beds, and 
other necessaries, if their journey be long. They 
commonly carry in their hands a double crook, to di¬ 
rect the beast, and to recover the bridle if it chance 
to drop. Some of the women, whose circumstances 
admit of it, travel in litters, carried by camels; 
another method of conveyance is by means of a round 
basket, with a cover slung on each side ot a camel. 

The best houses in Egypt, especially at Cairo, are 
built upon a quadrangular structure. The saloon is 
built in the shape of a Greek cross, with a cupola in 
the middle. It is wainscotted ten feet high, and the 
pannels shine with mother-of-pearl, blue smalt, fine 
marble, and elegant pieces of mosaic workmanship. 
Above the wainscotting are inscriptions in Arabiac, 
all round the apartment, and the whole is crowned 
with arches of mosaic and mother-of pearl. The 
room is surrounded with a sofa, furnished with rich 
velvet cushions, and the floor is covered with fine 
carpets. 

Of the Egyptian Form of Government, 

The government of Egypt is an aristocracy, partly 
civil and partly military. Under the protection, rath¬ 
er than the authority, of the sultan of Constantinople, 
a divan or sovereign council exercises the supreme 
authority, both executive and legislative. Even the 
revenue of the sultan is rather a tribute paid to a 
protector, than a tax levied by a sovereign. It is, 
besides, so moderate, that the necessary expenses of 
the government consume it entirely in Egypt ; and 


6 Egyptian Government* 

the trunk, in which it is pompously conveyed to Con- ^ 
stantinople, generally arrives there almost empty. 
Cairo is continually subject to convulsions and jarring 
factions, and the leading men retain troops to decide i 
their differences by force of arms. The mutual jeal¬ 
ousies of the chiefs seem to be the only causes which 
still preserve to the Porte the shadow of authority 
over Egypt. The members of the aristocracy are i 
all afraid of losing their influence under a resident ? 
sovereign j and, therefore, they agree in opposing the J 
elevation of any of their own body to the supreme 'i 
dignity. • 

The grand seignior sends always a Pacha to exer- ') 
cise his precarious authority in Egypt, in the charac- i 
ter of governor, who is entirely dependant on the ! 
Egyptian divan. The chief cadi or Cairo is sue- i 
ceeded almost every year by another from Constant!- i 
nople, who is named by the sultan, on the recommen- i 
dation of the mufti. Except these two, the sultan i 
appoints no other officers in Egypt, unless indirectly, ii 
The divan consists of twenty four beys or governors 1 
of districts, fourteen chief officers of troops, and a | 
number of people of the law. The offices of grand \ 
treasurer and governor of Cairo are likewise held by I 
members of this body. They entertain guards and 
bodies of soldiers, as well for their personal security, 
as to enforce obedience through the districts under j 
their governments. What seems very extraordinary | 
is, that the beys and principal people were all origin- | 
ally Christian slaves, whom the great men may buy 
and educate, and afterwards, if they give proof of j 
superior talents, procure them employments in the i 
army, from whence they gradually rise to the first of- . 
flees in the state. The members of this aristocracy 
are extremely haughty; when M. Niebuhr was in 
Egypt a few years ago, no Christian or Jew might i 
appear on horseback. They rode only on asses, and 
were obliged to alight upon meeting the most incon- 


Diversions of the Egyptians. 7 

siderable Egyptian lord. These lords appear always 
on horseback, with a servant before them, who, wdth 
a great staff in his hand warns the riders on asses to 
shew due marks of respect to his master, crying out, 
ensil^ get down. If the infidel fail to give instant 
obedience, he is beaten till he alight. 

Of the Diversions of the Egyptians. 

The Turks of distinction who are still attached to 
the military institutions of the nation, amuse them¬ 
selves chiefly with equestrian exercises. The prin¬ 
cipal inhabitants of Cairo meet twice a week in a 
large square, with a number of attendants on horsat^- 
back. In this square they play at gerid ; which con¬ 
sists In running by two and two, with the stirrups 
loose, pursuing one another, and tossing staves four 
feet long; these are thrown with such violence, that 
if a person be not upon his guard, he is in clanger of 
having an arm or leg broken. Others shoot the bow, 
an exercise in such repute, that pillars are erected in 
honour of those who exhibit extraordinary proofs of 
strength or dexterity in launching the arrows. 

When the Nile is at its greatest height, the princi¬ 
pal people about Cairo divert themselves in little 
boats, splendidly decked out, upon the Birkets^ in the 
middle of the city. Upon this occasion, they regale 
the inhabitants with music, and often with fire-works. 

! The common people and peasants divert themselves 
with cudgel-playing. These are gladiators by pro- 
, fession, who exhibit in public. But staves are their 
1 only weapons, with a small cushion fastened under 
their left arm. The diversions of the young people 
i are similar to those practised in European countries. 

Public festivals are celebrated in Egypt with much 
pomp and ceremony, particularly the festival upon 
the departure of the pilgrims for Mecca. Each 
mosque celebrates a feast in honour of its founder, 



S Diversions of the Egyptians, 

on which occasion there is a procession of persons of 
all ranks ; and the people at large are allowed to di¬ 
vert themselves in an adjoining square. The festi¬ 
vals are sometimes celebrated by night. The streets 
are then illuminated by the blaze of resinous wood 
in a chafing dish held up on a long pole. They use 
also another more luminous flambeau, which is a ma¬ 
chine consisting of divers pieces of light wood, to 
which are hung a number of small lamps, and the 
whole is carried on a long pole, as .the former. 

In Egypt, and several other eastern countries, the 
favourite amusement of persons in any degree above 
the lowest classes is, to spend an evening in a public 
coffee-house, where they hear musicians, singers, and 
tale-tellers, who frequent those houses in order to 
earn a trifle by the exercise of their respective arts. 

In those places of public amusement, the Orientals i 
maintain a profound silence, and often sit whole eve¬ 
nings without uttering a single word. They are pas¬ 
sionately fond of the game of chess, and will spend 
whole days at it without interruption. 

A respectable Mahometan, who should indulge in 
dancing, would disgrace himself in the estimation of 
his countrymen. The women, however value them¬ 
selves in this exercise, and practice it without scru¬ 
ple, reckoning it their duty to contribute to the plea¬ 
sures of their husbands by every little art in their 
power. 

No woman would presume to appear in an assem¬ 
bly, if she were not handsome and magnificently 
dressed. If the entertainment happen to be in the 
house of a family of rank, fifty or more of the greatest 
beauites in the city assemble, all dressed out in great 
splendour. In their train, they bring their handsomest 
slaves, who attend in a separate room, to take care of 
the coffers containing their mistresses clothes. After 
the ladies have been seated for some time, and have 
been served with refreshments, young girls are call- 




Diversions of the Egyptians, 9 

ed in to divert the company with vocal and instru¬ 
mental music. The most distinguished lady then ri¬ 
ses, dances for a few minutes, and passes into the next 
apartment, where her slaves are in waiting to change 
her dress^. She lays all aside, even her slippers em¬ 
broidered with gold and silver, and retains only her 
head-dress and bracelets, which are richly ornament¬ 
ed with jewels. In the mean time, the rest dance, 
and in their turns leave the room to change their 
dress; and this is successively repeated, so long, that 
a lady %vill sometimes change her dress ten times in 
one night, and put on so many different suits, every 
one richer than another. 

Plays are very rarely exhibited in Cairo, but pup¬ 
pet-shows are to be met with in almost every street. - 
The magic lantern is also a favorite amusement. Jug¬ 
glers are to be seen in all the public places, but they 
are not remarkable for the feats which they exhibit. 
Monkeys, dressed up like human beings, contribute 
to the amusement of the populace : these animals are 
naturally fond of music. A captain in the East In¬ 
dia service has asserted, that he frequently made his 
drums enter ruinous pagodas, where monkeys were 
the sole inhabitants ; and that at the sound of martial 
music, even the mothers, with the young in their arms, 
left their holes, and some hundreds of these creatures 
would join at once in a dance. 

Those who lead about beasts for exhibition have of¬ 
ten likewise asses and sheep, whom they have taught 
to perform little diverting tricks. But what surpri¬ 
ses Europeans the most is, to see serpents dance. 
The serpent seems to have a natural taste for sounds ; 
at the beat of the drum, it raises its head, and erects 
its body, making at the same time a sort of motion, 
which is called its dancing. 


VOL. II. 


c 


( 10 ) 

Of the Religion of the Egyptians, 

The Religion of Egypt is extremely various ; what 
belongs to Mahometanism has been describjpd under 
the article Turkey. The Coptic is that of the native 
Christians, who are said to be very punctual ia the 
observance of the external rites of religion, perform¬ 
ing long services, and observe numerous fasts. Their 
children are plunged three times into the water in the 
baptismal ceremony ; after which the priest dips his 
finger in the consecrated wine, and puts it into the 
childs mouth. At seven or eight years of age. they 
are generally espoused, but do not live together until 
twelve or thirteen. In the marriage procession the 
bride is closely covered from head to foot, and walks 
under a canopy borne by four men, between two wo¬ 
men who conduct her. Several slaves walk before, 
some playing on the tambourine, others bearing fly- 
flaps, and others sprinkling scented waters. She is 
followed by women and musicians riding upon asses. 
A number of servants attend, and, as they pass on, 
perform feats of strength and agility. All the women 
in the procession cry incessantly “ /w, /w, luf an ex¬ 
clamation expressive of joy among the Mahometans. 
If the procession take place at night, slaves attend 
with flambeaus. 

The Eucharist is administered in both kinds, and 
when the priest in the service mentions Peter's cut¬ 
ting off the ear of the high priest’s servant, the audi¬ 
ence exclaim “ Well done, Peter.” They observe the 
Jewish ritual with respect to food ; and though they 
have no images, they prostrate themselves before pic¬ 
tures, pray for the dead, practise extreme unction, 
and in many other respects resemble the church of 
Rome. One peculiarity of the Egyptians is, the un¬ 
common veneration which they shew to idiots, who 
are considered as beings endued with a divine spirit. 


Climate of Africa* 1 1 

The Mahometan women kneel round them in the 
streets, and even kiss all parts of their bodies with 
the greatest fervency. There is a mosque at Grand 
Cairo, with considerable revenues, for the mainten¬ 
ance of idiots, so that those who are unfortunately 
devoid of reason, are very comfortably provided for 
in Egypt. 

Of the Climate of Africa ; the Nile ; and the Pyra¬ 
mids of Egypt* 

The vast tract of Africa may be looked on as a 
huge peninsula, of which the middle regions were 
supposed by the ancients absolutely uninhabitable, on 
account of their great heat, being situated under the 
torrid zone; and for this reason, as well as the diffi¬ 
culty and danger of travelling over its sandy deserts, 
which have been described by Mr. Addison, they have 
been but little frequented by Europeans ; 

So, where our wide Numidian wastes extend, 

Sudden th’ impetuous hurricanes descend; 

Wheel through the air, in circling eddies play. 

Tear up the sands, and sweep whole plains away. 

The helpless traveller with wild surprise, i 
Sees the dry desert all around him rise, > 

And, smother’d in the dusty whirlwind, dies. ) 

It is, however, now well known that these climes 
are not destitute of inhabitants. Providence having 
made men capable of living, perhaps, in all parts of 
the globe, by giving them certain organs which ena¬ 
ble them to conform themselves to the heat and cold, 
the moisture and dryness of the climate in which they 
arc born. Thus the Laplanders not only live, but 
enjoy life near the frozen pole, and the Lybians are 
happy in their sultry deserts : 

Yet, where to find the happiest spot below. 

Who can direct, when all pretend to know ; 

The shuddering tenant of the frigid zone 
Boldly proclaims that happiest spot his own, 


12 


The Nile. 

Extols the treasures of his stormy seas. 

And his long night of revelry and ease ; 

The naked savage, panting at the /tne, 

Boasts of his golden sands and palmy wine, 

Basks in the glare, or stems the tepid wave, 

And thanks his gods for all the good they gave. 

Nor less the patriot’s boast where’er we roam, 

His first, best country, ever is at home. 

And yet, perhaps, if countries we compare. 

And estimate the blessings which they share ; 

Though patriots flatter, still shall wisdom find. 

An equal portion dealt to all mankind. 

As different good, by art or nature given. 

So different nations make their blessings even. 

GoLDS31ITII. 

Egypt is indebted to the river Nile for its fertility 
and happiness, for as it seldom rains in the inland 
parts of the country, and the soil is naturally dry and 
sandy, if the lands were not annually watered by the 
overflowing of this river, Egypt, instead of the most 
fertile, would be one of the most barren regions in 
the world. The source of the Nile baffled all the 
enquiries of the ancients. The discovery was in vain 
attempted by the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, and 
how honourably they esteemed the enterprise, may 
be known from the speech put into Caesars mouth by 
the poet Lucan : 


Long has my curious soul, from early youth, 

Toil’d in the noble search of sacred truth: 

Yet still no views have urg’d my ardour more. 

Than Nile’s remotest fountain to explore. 

Then say, what source the famous stream supplies. 

And bids it at revolving periods rise ; i 

Shew me that head from whence, since time begun, 

The long succession of his waves has run. 

This let me know, and all my toils shall cease. 

The sword be sheath’d, and earth be blest with peace. 

Rowe’s Pharsalia 

It is now ascertained that this river rises in Gabel 
el Kamar, or the mountians of the moon, in a dis¬ 
trict called Donga, about eight degrees north lati¬ 
tude. 


pyramids of Egypt, 13 

The swell and overflowing of the Mile are occa¬ 
sioned by the great rains that fall in Ethiopia during 
the months of April and May; but the rise of the 
waters is not considerable in Lower Egypt till about 
the 20th of June, nor is any public notice taken of it 
till the 28th, when its swell is equal to about two feet 
in height ; the criers then proclaim the rise at Cairo, 
and continue to publish how much it increases every 
day, till it rises to about five feet and a half when 
there are great public rejoicings: this happens usu¬ 
ally at the latter end of July, but the sooner it takes 
place, the better hopes they entertain of a plentiful 
season. If the Nile does not rise so high, the peo¬ 
ple pay no tribute that year to the grand seignior ; 
but a still greater height is necessary to cause a gene¬ 
ral flood, and prepare the lands for cultivation. Its 
greatest height is commonly about the middle of 
September, 

know its exact height, there is built, on a pleas¬ 
ant island opposite to old Cairo, a pillar for measur¬ 
ing the Nile. This pillar is placed under a dome, 
and crowned with a Corinthian capital, and from the 
court that leads to the house is a descent to the Nile 
by steps, on which the common people believe that 
Moses was found, after he had been exposed on the 
bankst of the river. 

The pyramids of Egypt must not be wholly forgot¬ 
ten. There are several of various dimensions ; but 
four are particularly remarkable. Inigo Jones is said 
to have formed the square of Lincoln’s-Inn Fields 
from one of these pyramids, the base of which, if 
placed in that square, would extend to the houses on 
each side. The perpendicular height is five hundred 
feet, and it is ascended by two thousand circular steps 
on the outside. 

At the entrance of this pyramid travellers dis¬ 
charge pistols to dislodge the bats, which infest these 
places ; they then, on account of the heat, strip them- 
c 2 


14 Inhabitants of Barbnry, 

selves to the shirts, and proceed with candles through 
a passage ninety-two feet long, when they come to a 
large place where they commonly take refreshment. 
The second passage is an hundred and ten feet long, 
at the end of which is another resting place, and on 
the right hand is a well remarkable for harbouring 
bats of an enormous size. The third passage ex¬ 
tends an hundred and twenty-four feet in length, and 
leads to an inferior chamber. This passage, which 
is twenty-six feet high, and six broad, is furnished 
with benches of polished stone : the chamber is lined 
with finely polished granite. The travellers then pass 
through a fourth and fifth gallery, which leads to a 
noble room, on the left side of which is a fine piece 
of granite, said to be the tomb of Cheops, king of 
Egypt. On quitting the pyramid, it is not an un¬ 
common thing for travellers to be attacked with a 
pleurisy, which the sudden transition from an in¬ 
tensely hot to a temperate air is very apt to occasion. 


BARBARY. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANS OF BARBARY. 

THE numerous nations that inhabit the coasts of 
the Mediterranean, from Egypt to the western ocean, 
and the internal regions of Barbary as far as Mount 
Atlas, are composed of people of different races ; as 
the original natives, Arabs, Vandals and the Moors 
formerly driven from Spain. Zaara, or the desert of 
Barbary, as far as the river Niger, contains a varie¬ 
ty of wandering nations, all proceeding from the 
Arabs, Moors, and fugitive Portuguese, which are 
subdivided into different tribes ; of these the most 
considerable are the Mongearts, whose manners and 




Religion and Education of the Mongearts, 15 
customs, as being the most interesting, claim a place 
here. 

Of the Religion and Modes of Education peculiar to 
the Mongeqrts. 

Religion, according to these people, is Mahometan¬ 
ism in all its purity. They offer up their prayers seve¬ 
ral times in the day, but never in public, unless a 
Mahometan priest happen to be present, who seldom 
comes but on account of the children’s education : 
then all the Arabs assemble at the hour of prayer, 
place themselves in a line, turn to the east, and if 
water be wanting in the desert, rub their faces and 
arms with sand, while the priest recites the general 
prayer. 

The priests travel about the country to instruct 
children. There is no force used in their education. 
The little boys meet in the morning of their own ac¬ 
cord, at a place of instruction, which is to them a 
place of recreation. They take with them a small 
board inscribed with Arabic characters, and a few 
maxims of the Koran, The biggest and best infor¬ 
med receive their lessons from the priests, and after¬ 
wards communicate them to their fellows. The chil¬ 
dren teach one another to read ; nor are they ever 
corrected. It would be a crime to beat a child, who, 
according to their notions, has not sufficient reason 
to distingnish good from evil. 

Those who persevere in the study of the Koran 
are made priests, after having passed an examination 
before the learned elders. Great respect is paid to 
them, and they have no need of cattle, those of the 
nation being their’s ; accordingly they find their sub¬ 
sistence every where. 

At about eight years old they are circumcised.— 
Their head is also shaved, nothing being left but four 
locks of hair, one of which is cut off in a meeting of 


16 Hospitality^ of the Mongearts* 

the family, at each remarkable action performed by the 
child. If at the age of twelve or thifteen he kills a 
wild-boar, or other beast of prey, that should fall up¬ 
on his flock, he loses one of his locks. If, in the pas¬ 
sage of a river, a camel be carried away by a stream, 
and he save it by swimming to its assistance, another 
is cut off. If he kill a lion,- a tyger, or a warrior of 
an hostile nation, in a surprise or an attack, he is con¬ 
sidered as a man, and his head is entirely shaved.— 
Seldom does an Arab reach the age of twenty with¬ 
out having deserved this honour, for as they are 
ashamed to be treated like children, they expose 
themselves to the greatest dangers to obtain it. 

Of their Hospitality^ Toleration^ and Respect to 
old Age. 

The laws of hospitality are universally observed 
in Zaara. Scarcely does a stranger appear before the 
tents, when the first person who perceives him points 
out that particular one to which he is to go. If the 
master be not there, the wife or slave advances to 
meet him, stops him at twenty paces distance, and 
brings him a draught of milk for his refreshment.— 
His camels are then unloaded, his effects are ranged 
round him, a mat, of which the owner deprives him¬ 
self, is given him, with whatever else is necessary to 
guard him from the injuries of the air. His arms are 
deposited near those of the master of the tent, either 
that they may not suffer from the dew, or to guard 
against ill intentions on the part of a man unknown. 
A repast is then prepared, for rather than let him 
want, his hosts would go without a supper them¬ 
selves. 

The rights of hospitality are so much respected, 
that should a stranger be an enemy, who had wound¬ 
ed, or even killed the master of a tent, he would there 
meet with a sacred and inviolable asylum, although 


Domestic Manners of the Mongearts, 17 
surrounded by those who must naturally desire his 
ruin. The tent of the chief is always the one point¬ 
ed out. But as his gains are not greater than those 
of the rest, he could not, if custom had not provided 
for it, entertain, at his expence, all the strangers that 
happen to pass, nor could he support himself and 
his slaves, since he is forever occupied by the affairs 
of the horde. Every tent contributes to his stock of 
provisions, each individual generally furnishing two 
pounds of ground barley per week ; and as the richest 
in cattle is generally chosen for chief, he has plenty 
of milk ; but in case of need, he would obtain a sup¬ 
ply any where. 

The Mongearts trouble nobody on the score of re¬ 
ligion. The ordy one they do not tolerate is the Jew¬ 
ish ; none of the Hebrew nation is found among them, 
and if a Jew had the misfortune to enter their terri¬ 
tory, and to be taken, he would to a certainty be burnt 
alive. Infinite respect is paid to all old men, what¬ 
ever be their family. They enjoy the same preroga¬ 
tive as the priests, and equal consideration with them 
and the Arabs who have the good fortune to visit the 
tomb of Mahomet at Mecca. The old men, as well 
as the chiefs of the hordes, are the judges of the na¬ 
tion. They take cognizance of all the differences, 
the pain of death being that alone which they cannot 
pronounce. An assembly of several chiefs of the 
horde is necessary for that purpose ; and as the ac¬ 
cused has generally a number of friends, it seldom 
happens that he undergoes a capital punishment.— 
The decisions of the old men are instantly executed. 

Of their Domestic Manners, 

When the father of a family dies, all the effects in 
his tent are seized by the eldest son present at his de¬ 
cease. Gold, silver, trinkets, every thing disappears, 
and the absent children have only an equal share in 


18 Domestic Manners of the MongeartSy 
the division of the cattle and slaves. The girls are 
entirely excluded from all participation, and take up 
their residence with the eldest brother. The women 
are much more respected among the Mongearts than 
among neighbouring nations; they are nevertheless 
in a state of subjection approaching to slavery : they 
do all the drudgery of the tent, and at the hour of re¬ 
past in the evening they wait on their husbands. All 
the freemen and slaves of the same religion eat to¬ 
gether, the remains serving for the women. 

Although a plurality of wives is authorized by their 
religion, few Arabs take more than one wife ; they 
put her away if she brings them no boys, but then she 
is at liberty to live with another man ; but if, on the 
contrary, she has the good fortune to have one or 
more male children, her husband’s regard for her is 
inconceivable ; she has absolute authorit\ in his tent, 
and passes her whole time in conversation, sleeping, 
or dancing. The captive negresses do all her work, 
and are no longer assisted in their labour by the wife, 
who treats them with the greatest harshness and ar¬ 
rogance. 

When a man beats his wife it is a sure sign that 
he is sincerely attached to her, and that he does not 
mean to part with her; if he content himself with re¬ 
proaches, the wife thinks herself despised. Hence, 
in the most trifling disputes, the women are cruelly 
beaten ; they prefer it to the complaints that the hus¬ 
band might make to their parents ; this being the most 
certain proof of a man’s fondness for his wife. 

The wife brings no portion to her husband. When 
a Mongeart is desirous of undertaking the care of a 
family, he pitches upon the young woman that pleases 
him, and asks the father’s consent without any for¬ 
mality ; nor can the latter refuse, unless the man who 
pretends to her hand have done something contrary 
to the laws of the nation. The fidelity of the women 
IS incorruptible ; different in their opinion from all 


Domestic Manners of the Mongearts. 19 
other Mahometans, they think they are immortal, like 
the men; but do not flatter th. mselves with the pos¬ 
sibility of happiness in the other world, unless they 
shall have been faithful to their husbands in this. 

They often visit one another ; on these occasions, 
the honour consists in permitting the female visitor 
to perform all the work of the tent. She assumes 
the management of every thing, dresses the victuals, 
churns the butter, and keeps herself employed, while 
her friend entertains her with an account of the dif¬ 
ferent affairs of the family or nation. 

The heartiness of the welcome is measured by the 
extent of the work submitted to the guest, who gene- 
rail v prepares double the quantity of food, so that 
the host is obliged to invite his neighbours to partake 
of the repast- It is the business of the visitor to do 
the honours of the table ; nor will she suffer any 
body about her to remain dissatisfied. 

If the masters of a tent have a Christian slave, 
which happens when there has been a shipwreck on 
the coast, the white is considered as superior to the 
negr(', although the latter be a Mahometan. He is 
feci separately ,* his victuals are taken from the gene¬ 
ral stock, and if any remain, neither the women nor 
even the slaves will touch it j they will not make use 
of any thing that has contained a Christian’s food. 
If the Christian be a child, he is treated like those of 
the Arabs, and has no task set him, but obeys only 
the impulse of his will. The Moor who should be 
rash enough to strike him, would run the risk of his 
life. And when the horde remove, the women take 
the greatest care in assisting him to mount the camels, 
lest he should be fatigued with too great exertion. 




( 20 ) 

MOROCCO. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 

CUSTOMS, OF THE INHABITANTS OF MOROCCO. 

Of their Persons^ Dress^ and Domestic Habits, 

THE inhabitants of Morocco are in general of a 
swarthy complexion, strong limbed, active, and har¬ 
dy; enduring the sultry heats of summer, and the 
chilling lains of winter, with surprising resolution. 
The women are celebrated for the brilliancy of their 
eyes, and some of them have beautiful skins ; but a 
man may dwell a long time in one of their cities, be¬ 
fore he has an opportunity of seeing a single female 
of this description in the street. 

The dress of the inhabitants of Morocco is pecul¬ 
iarly graceful: the men wear short shirts, with broad 
• sleeves, depending or sometimes tucked up; over 
these shirts they have short cloth vests, fastened with 
small buttons and loops, which are frequently em¬ 
broidered with gold and silver; and next to their 
skins they wear linen drawers tied about their waists ; 
round these they wrap scarfs of silk or stuff, for the 
purpose of holding large knives with curiously orna¬ 
mented handles. The outer garment is of ,^1 ’*o sorts : 
the one is a piece of fine white stuff, five or si; yards 
long and one and a half broad, which they wrap round 
them above and below the arms, bearing a strong re¬ 
semblance to the drapery of antique figures ; the oth¬ 
er is either made of cloth or napped stuff, and is sha¬ 
ped like a short cloak, to which there is a hood hang¬ 
ing behind, which serves to defend the head from the 
inclemency of the weather. They keep their heads 
shaved, on which they wear a little red cap, formed 
into a turban by rolls of muslin ; their legs are bare, 
but they have slippers of red and yellow leather. 


Of the Inhabitants of Morocco* 21 

This is the Moorish dress in general ; the distinc¬ 
tions of rank are marked by the fineness of the stuffs, 
and not by any particular formation of the materials. 
But as this country is inhabited by a mixture of dif¬ 
ferent nations, the dresses as well as the persons 
must vary according, in some measure, to the people 
from whom they have descended. 

The Berebers, or ancient natives, who follow their 
original customs, and have retired to the mountains, 
that they may enjoy the greater liberty, compose a 
distinct species of the inhabitants. 

The Arabs, too, are exceedingly numerous, and 
range from place to place with their flocks and herds; 
but more of them subsist by depredations, and attack¬ 
ing such caravans as unfortunately come in their way, 
than by honest labour. 

The Jews are the chief traders, factors, and bank¬ 
ers, and make ample amends for the heavy taxes with 
which they are loaded. 

. The renegadoes, or those who have renounced the 
Christian faith, form a distinct class of inhabitants; 
and the slaves, who are very numerous, and treated 
with unusual cruelty and severity, compose another. 
This last order of beings belongs to the emperor, who 
employs them unremittingly in the most laborious and 
meanest offices : so closely, indeed, are these unhap¬ 
py men kept to labour, that they are often obliged to 
put with one hand their wretched pittance of barley- 
bread, dipped in oil, into their mouths, while the 
other is employed in the most painful drudgery; 
add to this, that they are wretchedly clothed, har¬ 
nessed in carts with mules and asses, are whipped 
with the most savage barbarity for the least inadver¬ 
tency and intermission from labour, though occasion¬ 
ed by a real deficiency of strength, the effect of hun¬ 
ger, thirst, and fatigue. 

The Moors make short visits, and are in general, 
only entertained with coffee and sherbet: on particu- 
VOL. II. 


22 Of the Emperor of Morocco. 

lar occasions there is provided for the guests a dish 
composed of balls made of flour and water, and 
brought to table in a strong soup, with stewed fowls 
and flesh. They use the eastern method of sitting 
cross-legged on the floor, arranging their dishes on a 
large piece of Morocco leather, which serves for ta¬ 
ble and cloth. A servant attends them, while eating, 
with a bowl of water in one hand, and a piece of blue 
linen in the other, to wipe their right hands, with 
which they separate their victuals, without the assist¬ 
ance of the left. At meals they observe the greatest 
taciturnity ; but though their religion prohibits the 
use of wine and strong liquors, few of them regard 
the injunctions of Mahomet in this respect, when 
they can drink them unobserved. They generally 
repose themselves on mats in their houses, and sel¬ 
dom stir from home, except when business obliges 
them. They sit for several hours every day before 
their doors, and are perfect enemies to the least per¬ 
sonal fatigue. 

In this country there is no establishment for the 
conveyance of letters or dispatches; but there are 
messengers who will travel a hundred and fifty miles 
for a Barbary ducat, equal to about three shillings 
and sixpence sterling; this journey they accomplish 
in three days, combatting every danger on the road, 
from wild beasts, and men not less savage, with ama¬ 
zing intrepidity ; swimming across the deepest riv¬ 
ers, and subsisting only on a little meal and a few 
figs, which they carry in a goat’s-skin. 

Cf the Emperor of Morocco, 

The Moors are equal by birth, and know no dis¬ 
tinctions, except those which are derived from offi¬ 
cial employment; and on resigning these, they return 
to the common mass of citizens : thus may the poor¬ 
est man in the nation pretend, without presumption, 


Of the Emperor of Morocco* 23 

to the hand of the daughter of the most opulent. An 
accident, or the caprice of the prince, may precipitate 
the latter into ruin, and the former may by a similar 
change of fortune, be elevated to a state of wealth and 
honour. The emperor has an unbounded power over 
the lives and fortunes of his subjects. His laws, as 
soon as enacted, are proclaimed throughout his do¬ 
minions, and received with an implicit veneration : 
those who die in the execution of his commands are 
supposed to be admitted immediately into Paradise; 
and those who receive their death from his own hands 
to enjoy the greatest happiness a future state can af¬ 
ford. His bashaws prostrate themselves before him, 
kiss the ground, and, rising, embrace his feet. The 
emperor is sole heir of all his subjects; he seizes the 
whole of their effects, only making such provision for 
their families as he may think proper, which is gen¬ 
erally inconsiderable. 

He goes every day to the place of assembly, where 
he administers justice. He listens to every one, for¬ 
eigners or subjects, men or women, rich or poor ; 
every one has a right to appear before him, and ex¬ 
plain the nature of his cause. Between eight and 
nine o’clock he comes to his audience, where he is 
surrounded by a great number of soldiers. Those 
who have cause of complaint make him a present, 
without which previous ceremony it is impossible to 
speak to him. The present, however, is proportion¬ 
ed to the condition and fortune of each individual. 
The smallest matter, even two eggs, is accepted. The 
Moors address their sovereign with boldness ,* they 
are never bashful before him, and he that should seem 
so, would, in some measure, confess his guilt, and in¬ 
fallibly lose his suit. 

When the emperor condemns any one to death, the 
body of the malefactor is left at the place of execution 
until it please him to forgive ; his friends then repair 
to the corpse, proclaim the pardon, carry it away, and 


*>4 Religion of the Moors, 

perform the rites of sepulture. The spot where the 
body is interred is surrounded with a wall, and the 
deceased is afterwards considered as a saint. If the 
emperor does not grant a pardon, the body remains 
without burial, and becomes food for beasts of prey. 

Of the Religion of the Moors. 

Friday is the day of prayer ; labour is suspend¬ 
ed and the mosques are devoutly attended. When 
prayers are over, the Moors visit each other, meet 
together in places of public amusement, and pass the 
day in recreation. At dawn of morning the public cry- 
er ascends the terrace of the mosque, and chants aloud 
a general prayer; this ceremony is repeated at noon 
and sun-set. 

The Moors scrupulously observe and practice all 
the austerities of their lent: it consists in abstinence 
from food, from drinking, and from the use of tobac¬ 
co, from the rising to the setting of the sun. The 
person detected in the violation of these precepts is 
rigorously punished. If he has taken food, he re¬ 
ceives the bastinado; if he has drunk water, he is 
sentenced to twenty or thirty blows on the head ; and 
the use of tobacco is frequently punished with a cru¬ 
el death : gunpowder is stuffed into the mouth, and 
set on hre. 

They believe in the immortality of the soul ; but 
this, in respect to the women, attaches only to those 
whose conjugal fidelity has been inviolate. After 
death these become celestial beauties ; annihilation 
attends the rest. According to their principles, ev- 
ry possible circumstance is ordained from eternity, 
and hence a malefactor is pitied rather than con¬ 
temned by his countrymen. When a Moor falls un¬ 
der adversity, he supports it with heroic firmness ; 
he is never heard to murmur, nor does he make the 
smallest effort to emerge from his distress. 


( 25 ) 


Comparison of some Particulars relating to the Moors^ 
Mongearts^ and Mdnselemines. 

Different from the Mongearts and Moors, the 
Monselemines, inhabitants of Bilidulgcrid, never en^ 
deavour to make proselytes. When they have a 
Christian slave, they treat him with humanity, let him 
want for nothing, and put him to no painful task. 
Money, their darling idol, is the cause of this indul¬ 
gence ; they detest the Christians, but they love mo¬ 
ney ; and fear that the ill treatment of their slaves 
might occasion their sickness or death, and thus rob 
them of the expected ransom. 

Among the Mongearts, a Christian, who should 
chant the prayer or suffer circumcision, would in¬ 
stantly have the rank of citizen ; the family to which 
he belonged would give him cattle, to enable him to 
live like themselves. A Christian at Morocco, whose 
curiosity should carry him within a mosque, would 
be put to death, or forced to assume the turban. But 
among the Monselemines, he would have nothing to 
fear ; with them money takes the lead of religion ; 
they would content themselves with making him pay 
as heavy a fine as he could bear for his curiosity. 

Among the Moors, a Christian, who should be inti¬ 
mate with a woman of that nation, must turn Ma¬ 
hometan to avoid death ; but among the Monsele¬ 
mines, the woman is alone punished. She is put into 
a sack, and thrown into the sea : the Christian has 
nothing to apprehend ; money is his saviour. 

If, in a dispute, a Christian slave defend himself 
against his master, the crime is punished with death 
among the neighbouring nations ; but with the Mon¬ 
selemines, a ransom in money will protect him. If 
an Arab kill a Jew, or a man of his own nation, a 
small fine to the Jew’s family will save him. But if 
the case be different, a large sum must be paid to the 
D 2 


26 Of the Country and Climate of Guinea* 

Arab. This insatiable thirst for money is the more 
inconceivable, as they hardly make any use of it. 
They hoard it with care, and often deny themselves 
the necessaries of life. When a father dies, although 
he has accumulated a great deal during his life, none 
is ever found among his effects ; he buries it in the 
earth unknown to every body. Misers should go to 
that country to learn economy : it is said that an El- 
wes, in comparison of a Monselemine, was a perfect 
prodigal. 


GUINEA. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS, OF THE INHABITANS OF GUINEA. 

Of the Country and Climate* 

GUINEA is usually divided into the grain-coast, 
the tooth-coast, the gold coast, and the slave-coast. 

As all Nigritia and Guinea lie within the tropic of 
Cancer, the air is excessively hot, and the flat coun¬ 
try being overflowed a great part of the year by peri¬ 
odical rains, the climate is unhealthy. Many parts of 
the country are extremely fcrtilb, and abound with 
the most delicious fruits ; nor is it uncommon to be¬ 
hold on the same tree, fruit and blossoms together. 
Before the breezes arise, which always spring up 
about noon, the heat of the sun is intolerable ,* but 
afterwards, refreshing gales render the country very 
supportable. Thunder and rain, with a sort of suflb- 
cating heat, prevaH during four months in the year. 
The tornadoes sometimes produce most dreadful 
scenes ; darkness comes on at mid- day, and the thun¬ 
der and lightning are more awful than can be con- 




Of the Country and Climate of Guinea* ST 

ceived by an European ; the whole face of nature 
seems suddenly changed. 

Guinea is supposed to contain more gold than any 
other part of the world. Great quantities are wash¬ 
ed down from the mountains, and found in the rivers. 
In rainy seasons, after a wet night, the sea-shore is 
covered with people, each having a couple of bowls, 
the largest they fill with the earth and sand brought 
down from the mountains by the floods; this they 
wash with many waters till most of the sand is thus 
got rid of; the remainder, containing the metal, which 
sinks to the bottom, they reserve in the other bowl. 
Sometimes they find as much gold as is worth a shil¬ 
ling or more; but they often look in vain. The 
value, however, of the gold brought from the Guinea 
coast, one year with another, is supposed to amount 
to three hundred thousand pounds sterling, of which 
our country imports about one third. 

Hot Guinea too gives yellow dust of gold, 

Which, with her rivers, rolls adown the sides 
Of unknown hills, where fiery winged winds, 

And sandy deserts, rous’d by sudden storms. 

All search forbids: however, on either hand, 

Vallies and pleasant plains, and many a tract 
Deem’d uninhabitable erst, are found 
Fertile and populous : their sable tribes, 

In shades of verdant groves, and mountains tall. 

Frequent enjoy the cool decent of rain 
And soft refreshing breezes : nor are lakes 
Here wanting ; those a sea-wide surface spread, 

Which to the distant Nile and Senegal 
Send long meanders: whate’er lies beyond, 

Of rich or barren, ignorance o’ercasts 
With her dark mantle. 

Dyer’s Fleece. 

The manner of living of the natives of this exten¬ 
sive country is course and indelicate, but they are such 
enemies to drunkenness, that a single trespass of this 
nature is punished in the most exemplary manner, 
being very properly regarded as the aggregate of eve¬ 
ry enormity, by reducing mankind to a level with the 


28 Dress, ^c. of the Inhabitants of Guinea, 
beasts, prompting them to infringe the rights of socie¬ 
ty, which it deprives of a useful member, and de¬ 
stroying the efficacy of the best laws and govern¬ 
ment. 

The rich wear a shirt with long sleeves, rings of 
iron interspersed with bells round their legs, and a 
scymitar by their sides. Every son follows invaria¬ 
bly the profession of his father. Like most of the 
other natives of these regions, they conceive it im¬ 
possible to discover one another’s sentiments by the 
delineation of crooked characters, and suppose that 
white men are favoured with the invention of famil¬ 
iar spirits, when they interpret the meaning of their 
friend’s writing. 

Women of distinction on the gold coast display 
great taste in the articles and disposition of their 
dress. The cloth which girds their waist is longer 
than that of the other sex; their hair is elegantly 
decorated with gold, coral, and ivory; circles of 
which likewise ornament their necks, arms, and legs, 
and they throw a silk veil over the neck and bosom. 
On the birth of a child, which occasions little or no 
inconvenience to the mother, a priest attends, who 
bends a number of cords, bits of coral. &c. about 
the head, body, arms, and legs of the infant. These 
are regarded as amulets against sickness and disas¬ 
ters, and, in fact, are the only things worn till the 
child is seven or eight years old, when a small cloth 
apron is put on. 

The inhabitants of the ivory, or tooth-coast, are 
extremely partial to small bells, which they wear on 
their legs, the jingling of these gives agility to their 
dancing, a diversion of which negroes in general are 
very fond. 

The natives of the gold-coast acknowledge one 
supreme God, to whom they attribute every quality 
of an omnipotent and omniscient Being ; but they of¬ 
fer up prayers and sacrifices to their fetiches or idols, 


Funerals^ ^c. of the inhabitants of Guinea, 29 
like the negroes. They believe that when the Crea¬ 
tor formed black and white men, he offered them their 
choice of two sorts of gifts, gold or learning; and 
the blacks, choosing the former, left the latter to the 
whites. 

The fetiches are a species of idols composed of 
different substances, with an ornament worn on the 
head consecrated to some invisible spirit. Each feti- 
cheer, or priest, has an idol of his own, peculiar in 
its construction; but, in general, they are large 
wooden pipes full of earth, oil, blood, bones of men 
and beasts, feathers, hair, and the like; which 
strange compositions are supposed to contain great 
virtues. 

When a native expires, his wives and relations 
commence hideous howling, shave their heads, smear 
their bodies with a chalky substance, equip them¬ 
selves in an old garment, and sally out in the streets, 
incessantly repeating the name of the deceased with 
the most piercing lamentations. The deceased is put 
into a coffin, with his fetiches splendidly dressed with 
the finest corals, and other valuable articles, which it 
is supposed he will have occasion to use in the other 
world. The body being deposited in the earth, 
the attendants return to the house of the deceased, 
where they are entertained for several successive 
days. « 

The funeral of a sovereign is attended wfll| uncom¬ 
mon scenes of horror and inhumanity ; several of 
his slaves are dispatched at the grave, as attendants 
to serve him in a future state; one of his wives, and 
principal servants, with such friendless wretches as 
are unfortunate enough to be within reach, add also 
to the splendour of the barbarous sacrifice. 


( 30 ) 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 

CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE KINGDOM 

OF DAHOMY. 

Of the Government and King- of Dahomy* 

THE government of Dahomy is the most perfect 
despotism that exists on the face of the earth ; there 
is no intermediate degree of subordination'between 
the king and the slave, at least in the royal presence, 
where the prime minister is obliged to prostrate him¬ 
self with as much abject submission as the meanest 
of his slaves. All acknowledge the right of the 
sovereign to dispose of their persons and property 
at pleasure. Beyond the precincts of the palace the 
ministers enjoy very eminent privileges. It is true, 
they are forbidden to wear sandals, and other orna¬ 
ments peculiar to royalty, or to use such an umbrella 
as a white man ; yet their inferiors must salute them 
with bent knees and clapping of hands : they may sit 
on high stools, ride on horseback, be carried in ham¬ 
mocks, wear silk, maintain a numerous retinue, with 
large umbrellas of their own kind, flags, drums, 
trumpets, and other musical instruments ; but the 
momcnt,they enter the royal gate, all these insignia 
are laid ^ide. The silk garment is substituted by a 
tunic pair of drawers ; the neck is adorned 

with a string of coral; a pair of broad silver brace¬ 
lets encircling the wrists; at the side hangs a scymi- 
tar, while the hand grasps an ivory club.^ Thus 
equipped, one of the ministers of state is always found 
in waiting at the palace gate ; and in this garb only 
may he enter with the utmost caution and respect, 
and not till the monarch’s permission be signified by 
one of the women. On his entrance, he crawls to¬ 
wards the apartment of audience on his hands and 
knees, till he arrive in the royal presence, where he 


Of the Government and King of Dahomy 31 
lays himself flat on his belly, rubbing his head in the 
dust, and uttering the most humiliating expressions. 

The king’s sons have no rank, and are obliged to 
salute the ministers with clapping of hands, in a kneel¬ 
ing attitude; but these are not suffered to remain 
long in that position. 

The king and all his subjects receive strangers with 
the most remarkable courtesy. Ambassadors from 
every state salute the sovereign according to the fash¬ 
ion practised in their own country. Chairs are placed 
for European governors, or masters of ships, upon 
which they sit, covered, till the king makes his ap¬ 
pearance, when they bow, standing uncovered. Some¬ 
times the Dahoman monarch has been known to shake 
hands with an European; but this is a very uncom¬ 
mon mark of royal condescension; and bestowed only 
on some great favourite. 

White visitors are always honoured with a glass 
of some cordial liquor, filled by the king’s own 
hand, to refuse which would give offence. Favours 
of this kind are received with avidity by his own 
subjects, not so much for the sake of the liquor, as 
the honour conferred on them. On such occasions 
the subject lies on his back, while the king pours the 
liquor down his throat; nor must he olFer to ^tir till 
the royal hand be withdrawn, which sometir^s does 
not happen before the whole contents of th^Jtttle be 
emptied, especially when he has a mind tb^SIl^with 
the drinker. M 

So great is the veneration of the D^omans for 
their sovereign, that their history produces no in¬ 
stance of despotism. 'I’he doctrine of passive obe¬ 
dience and non-resistance is universal among them, 
and the most oppressive mandates of the monarch are 
submitted to without a murmur. 



( 32 ) 

Of the Armyy Amazons, and Money of Dahomy. 

The king of Dahomy maintains a considerable 
standing army, commanded by an Agaow, or general, 
with several other subordinate military officers, who 
must hold themselves in readiness to take the field 
upon all occasions, at the command of the sovereign. 
The payment of the troops depends principally upon 
the success of the expeditions in which they are en¬ 
gaged. On extraordinary occasions, all the males 
able to bear arms are obliged to repair to the gene¬ 
ral's standard. Sometimes the king takes the field 
at the head of his troops; and on very great emer¬ 
gencies, at the head of his women. 

Within the walls of the royal palaces are immured 
not less than three thousand women. Of these seve¬ 
ral hundred are trained to the use of arms, are regu¬ 
larly exercised and disciplined, and go through their 
evolutions with as much expertness as the male sol¬ 
diers. The singularity of this institution always at¬ 
tracts the attention of Europeans, when, among other 
uncommon exhibitions, they are presented with the 
unusual spectacle of a review of female troops. 
Whatever has been said of the Amazons of antiquity 
jpay be^ applied to the female warriors of Dahomy. 

TheJ^iief part of the public revenue consists of 
voluntary gifts paid by the subjects at the time of the 
customs, which are usually celebrated soon after 
Christmas, when the king repairs to Abomey, his an¬ 
cient capital, and the burial place of the royal family. 
About this time he dispatches his messengers extra¬ 
ordinary, called half heads, from the custom of shav¬ 
ing only one half of their/heads, with his gold headed 
cane and compliments to the European governors at 
Grigwee, inviting them to witness the solemnization 
of this festival. Each of these governors carries a 
present to the king, in token of friendship and good 


Palaces, Pood, ^c, of the Dahomans. 35 
correspondence, who returns more than an equivalent 
in value. Independently of these, he treats them 
sumptuously during their stay. At this season of 
the year, the traders bring to the sovereign contribu¬ 
tions according to their respective circumstances. 
Besides these, a duty is levied on commerce, and 
something arises from captives taken in war, of whom 
all that are carried to market are sold for the king’s 
account; but as he pays a certain sum to his troops 
for every prisoner they bring in, and as the greatest 
part of the captives are put to death, a small propor¬ 
tion only being reserved for sale, the amount they 
produce must fall short of the expense of procuring 
them. 

The well known shells called coxuries, which come 
from the Maldiva islands, are the currency of the 
country, where a thousand of them are reckoned 
equal to half a crown. In the country, among pri¬ 
vate people, they circulate loose ; but all disburs- 
ments from the king’s house are made in branches 
strung with cowries, containing two thousand each, 
deducting one fortieth part as a perquisite to the 
king’s women for piercing and stringing them. 

Of the Palaces, Dress, and Food of the Inhabitants of 
Dahomy, 

The king of Dahorny has several palaces, each oc¬ 
cupying a piece of ground nearly a mile square. 
They are surrounded with a substantial clay wall about 
twenty feet high. In the middle of each side is 
a guard house, with two centinels at the gate, and 
a guard of armed eunuchs and women within. On 
the thatched roofs of these guard-houses are ranged, 
on wooden stakes, many human skulls. The inter¬ 
mediate spaces are covered with slanting thatched 
roofs. In the middle of the palq^ce stands a building 
of two stories, about thirty or forty feet high, which 

VOL. II. E 


34 Palaces^ Dress^ and Food^ 

seems intended more for shew than use, for the king 
never dwells in it. The whole has the appearance 
of a farm yard with thatched barns and hovels for 
cattle and carts. The interior of the palace is not so 
easily described; its recesses are scarcely ever en¬ 
tered by any man, and the female apartments are 
guarded from intrusion with more than eastern jeal¬ 
ousy. 

Mr. Archibald Dalzel once visited the king Aha- 
dee, who was sick in his bed chamber, a detached 
circular room, of about eighteen feet in diameter ; 
the walls were of clay, and white washed ; there was 
before it a small area, formed by a wall about three 
feet high, of which the top was stuck full of human 
jaw bones, and the path leading to the door was paved 
with the skulls. The mattress and bedstead were of 
European manufacture; the other furniture consisted 
of a small table, a chest, and two or three chairs, and 
the clay floor was covered with a carpet. The 
apartments of the women, each of whom has a sep¬ 
arate hut, occupy, it is supposed, the remainder of 
the space within the palace walls, except a small part 
appropriated to eunuchs, and to store-houses for pro¬ 
visions, clothes, arms, ammunition, cowries, &c. 

The common people affect to believe that their king 
does not eat. Indeed, he does not eat in public, 
though he makes no scruple to drink He entertains 
the whites who visit him with great hospitality.'— 
They often dine in his presence, sometimes in the 
open air, when the table and guests are screened from 
the sun by large umbrellas, held up by the attend¬ 
ants, clothed in the country dress. The king has 
his cooks instructed either in Europe, or at the dif¬ 
ferent European forts, so that he is able to treat his 
visitors with victuals dressed in the manner of their 
respective countries. There is no want of table ap¬ 
paratus ; the cloth is commonly a piece of new linen; 
the dishes are pewter or earthenware, and the knives 


Of the Inhabitants of Dahomy, 35 

and forks silver handled. The white men on such oc¬ 
casions are seated on chairs; the heir-apparent and 
principal persons are placed on the ground near the 
Europeans, who hand them some of the victuals, 
which they eat, as if by stealth, without knife and 
fork. 

The dress of the men in Dahomy consists of a pair 
of cotton drawers, the manufacture of the country, 
over which they wear a large square cloth of the 
same ; this cloth is about the size of a counterpane 
for the middling class, but much larger for the gran¬ 
dees ; it is wrapped about the loins, and tied on the 
left side by two of the corners, the others hanging 
down and trailing on the ground. 

The head is usually covered with a beaver or felt 
hat, according to the quality of the wearer. The 
king, as well as some of his ministers, often wears a 
gold or silver laced hat, and feather. The arms and 
upper part of the body remains naked, except when 
the party travels or performs some piece of work i 
then the large piece of cloth is laid aside, and the 
body is covered with a tunic without sleeves. The 
feet are always baie, none but the sovereign being 
permitted to wear sandals. They carry in the hand 
a cutlass or wooden club. For an officer of state the 
club is of ivory, which is a very expensive ornament, 
a whole elephant’s tooth being destroyed in the fab¬ 
rication of this badge of dignity. 

Warriors wear a cloth made from the leaves of the 
palm-tree ; a cartouch box } a powder flask with many 
grotesque ornaments, which, with the devices paint¬ 
ed on the face and body, give them a very fiendlike 
appearance. 

The women use several cloths and handkerchiefs, 
some to wrap round their loins, and others to cover 
the upper parts of the body. The neck, arms and 
ankles, are adorned with beads and cowries: rings of 
silver or baser metal encircle their fingers. The ears 


36 Character^ Wc. of the Lihabitants of Dahomy* 
are pierced, and a coral bead, or piece of red sealing 
wax, or a piece of oyster-shell polished, is inserted in 
the hole. 

The Dahomans are less addicted to the practice of 
tatOTJuing than their neighbours, many of whom are 
known as belonging to particular states, by the scari¬ 
fications on their bodies. The Ardrahs make an in¬ 
cision in each cheek, turning up a part of the flesh to¬ 
wards the ears, and healing it in that position. The 
Mahees are distinguished by three long oblique cuts 
on one cheek, and a cross on the other. Some bore 
their ears, others the nose, thrusting a bead or a cow¬ 
rie into the aperture. 

Of the general Character^ Festivals^ and Arts of 
the Dahomans. 

The character of the Dahomans is marked with a 
mixture of ferocity and politeness. The former ap¬ 
pears in the treatment of their enemies, and in their 
several festivals ; the latter they possess far above all 
African nations with whom they have hitherto had 
any intercourse, this being a country where strangers 
are least exposed to insults, and where it is easy to 
reside in security and tranquility. The nature of 
their government makes them reserved with regard 
to every state transaction, but, on occasions where 
this restraint is unnecessary, they are abundantly af¬ 
fable and communicative. 

The celebration of the feast of the customs contin¬ 
ues about a month, every fourth day of which there 
is an exhibition, the intermediate days being em¬ 
ployed in preparations. The whole would be highly 
amusing, if it were not for the human sacrifices, which 
are wantonly made for the purpose of waterings ac¬ 
cording to the country expression, the graves of the 
deceased royal family. During this festival there are 
dancing, singing, and reciting songs, in praise of the 


A Man of Quality in Congo carried in his Hammock. 



























































































































































































Inhabitants of Congo, 37 

monarch and his exploits, and the performers are re* 
warded on the spot, according to the merit of their 
compositions. Other days are allotted to feasting, 
and these are said to resemble the scenes of a general 
election in this country, only that there is in Dahomy 
less disorder. On some of these occasions the king 
inakes a general scramble among his subjects, of cow¬ 
ries, silks, cotton, &c. And the whole is concluded 
with the death of at least one human victim, who, to¬ 
gether with several animals is thrown from the stage^ 
to be murdered below. 

The specimens of art produced by the Dahomans 
discover much genius and industry. They manufac¬ 
ture good cotton cloths; the dyes stand* well, and 
their matting is very neat: they are also expert in 
many parts of smith’s work, fabricate implements of 
husbandry, tools of various kinds, and all sorts of 
warlike weapons. Besides blacksmiths, they are bra¬ 
ziers and silversmiths, make bracelets, handles to 
cutlasses, rings for fingers, and a variety of other 
trinkets of brass and silver, which they melt in cru¬ 
cibles of their own making. 


CONGO. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS, OF THE INHABITANTS OF CONGO. 

BENGUELA, Angola, Congo, and Loango, are 
all under the dominion of the Portuguese, who have 
great numbers of negro princes subject to them. By 
giving some account of the inhabitants of Congo, 
which is the most considerable nation, every thing 
will be described that is important or interesting be¬ 
longing to them all. 

Congo, though situated near the equator, enjoys a 
£ 2 




38 Persons^ Dress^ ^c. of the Congoese* 
tolerable temperate climate. The winter begins in 
March, and the summer in September; during the 
winter months there is ahnost a perpetual rain, which 
frequently comes down with prodigious force, and 
the storms are then most tremendous, fully answer¬ 
ing Thomson’s description : 


-To the equator crowding fast, 

Where, highly rarefy’d, the yielding air 
Admits their stream, incessant vapours roll, 
Amazing clouds on clouds continual heap’d, 

Or whirl’d tempestuous by the gusty wind. 

Or silent borne along, heavy and slow. 

With the big stores of steaming oceans charg’d, 
Meanwhile, amid these upper seas, condens’d 
Around the cold aerial mountain’s brow. 

And by conflicting winds together dash’d. 

The thunder holds his black tremendous throne ; 
From cloud to cloud the rending lightning’s rage ; 
Till, in the furious elemental war 
Dissolv’d, the whole precipitated mass 
Unbroken floods and solid torrents pours. 


The winds in winter, through all these regions, 
drive the clouds towards the mountains with great 
violence, where, being gathered and compressed, they 
are seen hovering on the tops of these eminences, 
and soon after discharge themselves in showers.-— 
During their summer the winds clear the southern 
skies, drive the rain into the northern regions, there¬ 
by cooling the air, the heat of which would be other¬ 
wise insupportable. 


Of the Persons^ Dispositions^ Dress, and Food of 
the Congoese, 

The aborigines were in general black, but, since 
their intermarriages with the Portuguse, the native 
hue seems to be changed, and many of them are of 
an olive colour. Their hair is woolly, their eyes are 
of a lively black, and they have not either the flat no¬ 
se's, or thick lips of the negro race. They are in ge- 


Persons, Dress, ^c, of the Congoese. S9 

neral of a middle stature and, though considerablv 
darker, very much resemble the Portuguese. 

They are characterized as a mild, courteous, and af¬ 
fable people, open to conviction, and quick in appre¬ 
hension ; but at the same time proud and revengeful, 
frequently poisoning one another on the slightest 
provocation, though they know that death is the cer¬ 
tain consequence of detection. Before the arrival of 
the Portuguese, the natives wore a piece of palm- 
tree cloth round their waists, and the skins of seve¬ 
ral animals in form of aprons. The women wore 
small caps, which were also used by the other sex; 
but these modes of dress are, in general, become ob¬ 
solete, the better sort of both sexes imitating the Por¬ 
tuguese, while the vulgar alone, through necessity, 
adhere to their primitive manner. 

The Congoese subsist on fruits, grain, roots, and 
pulse ; their common beverage being water, or at best 
palm wine. They are much attached to festive 
meetings, which are commonly celebrated in the eve¬ 
nings ; seating themselves on a grass-ring, and hav¬ 
ing a wooden dish placed before them, the eldest per¬ 
son in the company presents each his share with the 
greatest exactness, that no one may have cause to 
complain of disrespect, and if a stranger pass, he is 
invited to join the ring without ceremony. The 
feasts, which are generally held in commemoration of 
some particular event, are always conducted with 
great propriety ; love songs, instrumental music, and 
dancing, conclude the whole. 

Of their Knowledge, Arts and Amusements. 

In learning and science, they are as ignorant as it 
is possible to conoeive ; not having any characters to 
express themselves in writing, of course they have 
neither records nor histories. They compute their 
years by winter seasons, their months by the full 


40 Knowledge £sfc. of the Congoese* 

moon, and their da} s by the appearance of the sun; but 
they are totally ignorant of hours, or other inferior 
divisions of time. 

Those artificers are most esteemed, who are ca¬ 
pable of working in iron, not from the extraordinary 
use of this metal, but from a tradition that the first 
blacksmith was elevated to the throne of Congo: ne¬ 
vertheless, even in this art they have made very little 
improvement. The weavers are still less perfect 
than the smiths ; yet the curious works they perform 
by means so uncommonly simple, are sufficient to ex¬ 
cite astonishment and admiration. Their carpenters 
produce articles the most clumsy imaginable, though 
they employ double the time in constructing these 
awkward performances which would be necessary to 
render them perfect, if they had tools proper for the 
purpose, and were acquainted with the use of them. 
Not the smallest ingenuity is perceptible in their uten¬ 
sils, huts, boats, or vehicles for carriage ; which last 
articles are all borne on the shoulders of slaves, how¬ 
ever great the distance, or indifferent the roads. The 
rich, indeed, commonly travel in a palanquin, or 
rather hammock, carried by two stout slaves, who 
are relieved at proper intervals by others ; the master 
lolling at his ease, smoking, sleeping or staring about 
him. 

The huts in this country are generally low, ill-built, 
and of a circular form, being raised with wood and 
mud, and poorly thatched with straw and fern, to keep 
out the sun or rain. They have no other admission 
of light than by the doors, which are so low that the 
shortest person must stoop to enter them ; and even 
in the huts themselves a tall man cannot stand up¬ 
right. But in St. Salvadore, the capital, and some 
other towns, the houses are more spacious and ele¬ 
gant, being white-washed both within and without. 
Their furniture is adapted to the houses, consisting 
of a few ill-contrived instruments of agriculture, 



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The Funeral Procession of a distinguished person in Congo. 

































































































































































































































Thj methods of carrying the Nobility and Commonalty of Congo. 






















































































































































































































































































































































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Religion^ Marriages^ £sPc. 41 

hatchets, cutlasses, pots, kettles, and hand-mills for 
grinding corn. Their most sumptuous beds are 
large sackcloths, filled with leaves or straw, over 
which they throw a slight covering, small blocks of 
wood usually supply the place of pillows. 

The principal amusements are music and dancing; 
and in the latter they are remarkable for their exact 
observance in time. 

Of the Religion^ Marriages. Funeral Ceremonies'and 
Government of the Congoese. 

Idolatry is very prevalent in a great part of the 
country, where they acknowledge the existence of 
an omnipotent Being, whom they call Nzambian 
Pongu^ but imagine that he commits the care of all 
sublunary things to subordinate deities, who preside 
over the various powers of nature. In the eastern 
part of the kingdom, where paganism is universal, the 
priests pretend to the gift of divination, to prevent 
the effect of charms, and to relieve the diseased. A 
great ecclesiastical officer, styled Shalome, presides 
over the priests, and is regarded as a kind of pope,, 
to whom oblation is made of the first fruits of the 
earth, and persons of the higher rank are not permit^ 
ted to enter his house, under the severest penalties, 
without permission, or on some urgent occasion. 
Among other superstitious notions which the natives 
entertain of this high priest, there is one which must 
lessen the pleasure which he would otherwise derive 
from their respect and veneration. They imagine 
that he is either exempt from death, or that, if he 
were to die like other men, the world would be im¬ 
mediately at an end ; and to prevent the calamity, no 
sooner is his life in danger either from age or disease, 
than his successor is ordered to dispatch him with his 
own hand immediately after he succeeds to this ele¬ 
vated but precarious office. 


42 Of the Congoese, 

External worship is never practised, except at the 
new moon, or on particular occasions appointed by 
the Shalome, when the people assemble, and conclude 
the prescribed ceremonies with feasting, music and 
dancing. 

The Portuguese nuptial ceremony is adopted by 
the converts to Christianity ; but no persuasions can 
prevail upon the most religious Congoese catholics to 
renounce the custom of keeping as many women as 
their circumstances will enable them to maintain. 
Among the Pagan natives, when a young man is re¬ 
solved to marry, he sends a present to the relations 
of the female of his choice, accompanied by a cup 
of palm wine, the drinking of which is considered as 
a proof of approbation. He then visits the parents, 
and having received the bride from the hands of her 
nearest relation, conducts her to his own house, where 
she remains till he is satisfied as to her industry, tem¬ 
per, and those other qualifications, which at Congo 
are deemed indispensable in a wife. If after two or 
three years she is found deficient in any of these re¬ 
spects, he returns her to the parent, but without being 
supposed to sustain any injury to her reputation ; 
but if the marriage be concluded, the festival attend¬ 
ing it is made in a very sumptuous way. 

The husband and wife, by invariable custom, have 
their different departments, for the non performance 
of which no excuse is admitted. The husband’s bu¬ 
siness is to furnish lodging and clothing for his wife 
and children, to prune the trees, and to collect palm 
wine ; that of the wife to provide food for the family, 
and wait on her husband at meals. 

The dead are enclosed in cotton cloth, or straw 
mats, and buried in the fields, where graves are dis¬ 
tinguished either by throwing up hills of earth over 
them, the horn of some beast being placed on the top 
of each, or by raising plantations of trees round them. 
All ranks mourn eight days for their deceased rela- 


Marriages^ of the Congoese, 43 
lions, abstaining from food, and confining themselves 
at home for great part of the time ; they also shave 
their heads, anoint their bodies with oil, and rub 
themselves with earth, dust, or leaves, which gives 
them a very fantastic appearance. Widows, howev¬ 
er, are obliged to submit to a much longer seclusion 
from the world, as it would be considered as highly 
indecent for any such females to appear publicly in 
lees than a year, and even then otherwise than in 
black. In all cases they consider it as a great charity 
to dispatch into the next world those who are appa¬ 
rently at the brink of the grave, under the idea that 
they are going from a troublesome life into a state of 
never-ending felicity. 

The government of this country is hereditary and 
truly despotic, the king not only commanding the 
lives, but even the property of all his subjects; he is 
the sole proprietor of all lands within his dominions, 
which he confers on whom he pleases, reserving an 
annual tribute to himself; on failure of the payment 
of which, and not unfrequently to gratify a favourite 
minister, the old possessors are turned out, and the 
most affluent reduced to a state of beggary. 

The most remarkable ceremony which follows the 
kings coronation is, his publicly blessing the people; 
but if he perceive any persons present who have in¬ 
curred his displeasure, he fixes his eye upon them, 
and orders them to be driven from his sight; when 
the populace, emulous to show their zeal for their 
sovereign, immediately lay violent hands on the ob¬ 
noxious persons, and drag them out of the assembly 
with every mark of indignity, seldom suffering them 
to escape alive. 

These unhappy men being removed, the king ad 
dresses himself to the rest, and gives them his bene¬ 
diction, not by words, but by extending his arms 
over them, accompanied with an undescribable mo¬ 
tion of the fingers, which is returned by the mostvo- 


44 Miscellaneous Customs of the Co7igoese. 
ciferous expressions of joy, and the ceremony closes 
with the sound of various musical instruments, and 
the discharge of artillery. 

The king’s wife is styled mistress of the women, 
and she superintends the economy of the seraglio 
which he keeps. Before he enters into the nuptial 
contract, a tribute is levied through the kingdom, 
which is applied as a dowry for the lady of his choice, 
besides which, on the wedding day, proper officers are 
appointed to measure the length and breadth of eve¬ 
ry bed belonging to all his subjects, when the owners 
are taxed at a certain rate for every span. 

Miscellaneous Customs, 

When a person dies in Loango, they place the 
corpse on a kind of amphitheatre raised about six 
feet from the ground, and in a sitting posture, with 
the hands resting on the knees. They dress him in 
the best garments, and kindle fires all round the body. 
In proportion as the clothes absorb the moisture, 
they cover him with fresh garments, till the body is 
perfectly dry, when they bury him with great pomp. 
In the province of Malimba, the wife ennobles the 
husband. When the king dies, and leaves only a sin¬ 
gle daughter, if she is marriageable, she becomes ab¬ 
solute mistress of the kingdom. She begins her 
reign by making a tour round her dominions, when 
she requires at every town and village all the men to 
appear before her, and having learnt the several quali¬ 
fications of those whom she honours with her notice, 
she chooses him she likes best for husband, and hav¬ 
ing married him, her power terminates, and devolves 
entirely on the husband. 

When the negroes of Congo have a pain in any 
part of their body, they make a small wound in the 
place affected, and apply to it a horn with a small hole 


Miscellaneous Customs of the Congoese. 45 
in its middle, by which means they suck out the blood 
till the pain abates. 

It has been asserted of the Guinea negroes in gen¬ 
eral, that their genius is extremely limited ; that 
some of them are never able to count beyond the 
number three; they have no memory, the past and 
the future being equally unknown to them : that the 
most sprightly have some humour, and make tolera¬ 
ble mimics; that they are cunning, and would die 
rather than disclose a secret. 

Though the negroes have little genius, their feel¬ 
ings are extremely acute. According to the manner 
in which they are treated, they are gay or melancholy, 
laborious or slothful, friends or enemies. When well 
fed, and not ill treated, they are contented, joyous, 
ready for every employment, and the satisfaction of 
their mind is painted in their countenance ; but when 
oppressed and abused, they grow peevish, and often 
die of melancholy. Of benefits and of abuse they 
are exceedingly sensible, and to those who injure 
them they bear a mortal hatred. On the other hand, 
when they contract an affection to a master, there is 
no office, however hazardous, which they will not 
boldly execute, to demonstrate their zeal and attach¬ 
ment. They are naturally affectionate and have an 
ardent love for their children, friends and country¬ 
men. The little they possess, they freely distribute 
among the necessitous, without any other motive 
than that of pure compassion for the indigent. 

Such is the character of a race of people, who have 
long been considered as only fitted to administer to 
the luxuries of those who are generally esteemed 
more civilized, but of whom there are numbers that 
have exhibited, in their treatment of the unfortunate 
African, traits of greater barbarity than ever disgrac¬ 
ed the most uncivilized savage of the vast globe, 
which the black and the white have for a common 
habitation. May the time speedily arrive, when the 

VOL. II. F 


46 Persons and Dress of the Inhabitants 
horrors of slavery shall be known only by name, and 
the principles by which it still exists be execrated by 
every being that claims the title of man. 


CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITATNS OF THE CAPE OF 
GOOD HOPE. 

Of their Persons and Dress, 

THE persons of the Hottentots are as tall as most 
Europeans, but their hands and feet are small in com¬ 
parison of the other parts of their bodies, which Dr. 
Sparman thinks may be considered as a characteristic 
mark of this nation. The root of their nose is very 
low, by means of which the distance of the eyes from 
each other is greater than in Eum^ans. Their skin 
is of a yellowish brown hue, ySPInbling that of a 
European in the last stages of|mt jaundice ; this co¬ 
lour, however, is not observable in the whites of the 
eyes. The lips of the Hottentots are not so thick as 
those of some of their neighbours, the negroes, the 
CalFres, and the Mozambiques. Their mouths, of 
the common size, are ornamented with the finest 
teeth that can be seen ; and taken together with the 
rest of their features, as well as their shape, carriage, 
and motion, indicate health and delight, as well as 
alacrity and resolution ; qualities which Hottentots 
can shew upon occasion. The head appears to be 
covered with a black, frizxled kind of wool, but the 
men have scarcelv any beards. 

The dress of the Hottentots consists principally in 
besmearing their bodies all over most copiously with 
fat, in which there is mixed a little soot. This is 






of the Cape of Good Hope, 47 

never wiped off, so that as the dust and other filth, 
together with their sooty ointment, continually ad¬ 
heres to the skin, the natural hue is concealed, and 
changed from a bright amber brown to a brownish 
yellow colour. Those who have occasionally seen a 
Hottentot completely cleansed from his filth say, that 
one besmeared looks less naked, and as it were more 
complete, than in his natural state ; and that the skin 
of a Hottentot ungreased seems to exhibit some de¬ 
fect in dress, like shoes that want blacking. 

Besides the pleasure that the Hottentots enjoy in 
besmearing their bodies from head to foot, they like¬ 
wise perfume themselves with a powder of herbs, 
which they scatter over their heads and bodies, rub¬ 
bing it all over them when they besmear themselves ; 
some of these herbs are esteemed so valuable, that no 
more than a thimble full is given in exchange for a 
lamb. Their skins, thus dressed with grease and 
soot, are in a great measure defended from the influ¬ 
ence of the air. In other respects, excepting a cov¬ 
ering about their middle, they appear wholly naked. 

The necks of the men are bare, but those of the 
women are decorated with a necklace made of un¬ 
dressed leather; upon this are strung eight or ten 
shells, each of which is generally sold for not less 
than a sheep. About their arms and legs they wear 
several rings, some made of leather, others of iron, 
copper, and brass. Young girls are not allowed to 
deck themselves with these rings. But the principal 
finery of both sexes consists in brass buttons and 
plates, which they purchase of the Dutch, and fix in 
their hair with small pieces of looking-glass, that are 
as highly esteemed among the Hottentots as dia¬ 
monds among Europeans. 


(48 ) 

Of their Houses^ Kraals^ Food^ and Oxen* 

The houses, or rather huts, of the natives are all 
elliptical, being formed by fixing several large sticks 
into the ground, which are bent at top so as to de¬ 
scribe an arch, and covered with mats sewed togeth¬ 
er. The only opening into these huts is at the en¬ 
trance, which is seldom more than three feet high, 
and answers the triple purpose of chimney, door, and 
window. Their whole turniture consists of a lew 
earthen vessels for dressing their victuals, and hold¬ 
ing their milk, butter, or water. The fire-place is in 
the middle of each hut, by which means the walls are 
not so much exposed to the danger of fire, and they 
derive this additional advantage, that when they sit 
or lie in circle round it, the whole company equally 
enjoys the benefit of its warmth. 

A kraal, or village, consists of twenty or more of 
these huts placed near each other in a circular form, 
containing frequently three or four hundred persons, 
who live together with great harmony and content¬ 
ment ; and if any family differences arise, the neigh¬ 
bours are as zealous to reconcile contending parties, 
as more enlightened nations are to check the appear¬ 
ance of public danger, never desisting from their 
kind endeavours till they have fully restored peace 
and tranquility. By the circular form of the kraal, 
with the doors inwards, a kind of yard or court is 
made, in which the cattle are kept in the night. The 
milk, as soon as it is taken from the cow, is put to 
other milk that is curdled, and kept in a leathern 
sack, the hairy side being inwards, so that the milk is 
never drank while it is sweet. The only domestic 
animals are dogs ; and there is hardly a hut without 
one or more of these faithful creatures, which are ab¬ 
solutely necessary, as well to guard the cattle as to 
prevent the approach of wild beasts. 


A Hottentot Village. 



























































































































































































































































































Marriages^ Habits^ £s?c. of the Hottentots, 49 

The Hottentots have generally been stigmatized as 
the most filthy people in the world; they eat the en¬ 
trails of any beasts, but not till after they have been 
washed, and boiled in the blood of the animal, or 
roasted on coals. They sometimes boil their meat, 
but more frequently eat it raw, tearing it to pieces 
with their fingers, and devouring it most voraciously. 

They have a sort of fighting oxen, taught to per¬ 
form a variety of manoeuvres, and employed in war 
like elephants by other nations. These animals, as 
wells as the dogs, are essentially serviceable in keep¬ 
ing the flocks and herds together; for, on a signal 
given, they speedily collect straglers, and drive them 
to the part requir d. Every kraal maintains some 
of these oxen, and when one dies, another is taken 
from the herd, and trained to supply his place. As 
these creatures know every inhabitant in their vil¬ 
lage, if an European approach them without a Hot¬ 
tentot guide, they immediately pursue him with great 
fury, and unless the party has fire-arms, or can save 
his life by flight, his destruction is inevitable. 

Notwithstanding the amazing fertility of the soil, 
the principal riches of the natives are supposed to 
consist in their cattle, and all the herds belonging to 
a village constantly feed together; the meanest in¬ 
habitant having the privilege of turning his single 
sheep into the flock, where it has the same care and 
attention as those of the most opulent and powerful. 
The youngest cattle are disposed in the centre of the 
village, the old ones being ranged on the outside in 
couples, fastened together by the feet. 

Of the Hottentot Marriages^ Domestic Habits^ and 
Funerals. 

When a young man is disposed to marry, and has 
obtained the consent of the parents of the fair one, he 
selects two or three of the best oxen from his herd, 
and drives them to the house of his intended bride’s 
r 2 


50 Marridge^i Domestic Hahits^ 

relations, attended by as many friends of both sexes 
as he can prevail upon to accompany him. The ox¬ 
en are slain, and the whole assembly besmear them¬ 
selves with the fat. The men then sit on the ground 
in a ring, the centre of which is occupied by the 
bridegroom; and the women form a similar ring 
round the bride. In this situation they continue till 
the priest comes and performs the necessary ceremo¬ 
nies ; at the same time giving a sort of benediction, 
expressive of his hope that their life may be long and 
happy; that they may be blessed with a son within the 
year ; and that he may prove the comfort of their old 
age, as well as a courageous and dexterous huntsman. 

The nuptial ceremony being concluded, dinner is 
served up ; after which, smoking commences which 
is carried on in distinct parties, every party having a 
single tobacco-pipe only ; the person who fills the 
pipe takes two or three whiffs, and presents it to his 
next neighbour; and thus it continues to go round 
till the bridegroom retires with his bride, and leaves 
the company to disperse at their pleasure. The 
feasting is continued for several days, but there is 
neither music nor dancing, nor do the Hottentots 
ever indulge in strong liquors. 

When an infant is born, they rub it gently over with 
cow dung, which is dried by the sun, wind, or fire. 
In the mean time some of the women gather a few” 
stalks of Hottentot figs, which they bruise between 
two stones, and wash the child’s limbs with the ex¬ 
pressed juice, to give vigour and activity to them. 
It is then laid out to dry, the moisture being evapo¬ 
rated they besmear the child again with sheeps fat or 
butter. After this it is named by one of the parents, 
the appellation being taken from some favourite beast. 
A feast is then held, of which all the inhabitants of 
the kraal partake, the mother alone being excluded : 
but some of the fat is sent to her for the use of herself 
and child. 


And Funerals of the Hottentots. 51 

If a woman have twins, one of them is barbarously- 
exposed at a distance from the village, either to 
starve or to be devoured by birds or beasts of prey. 

In the same manner they treat their parents and 
friends, when through age they become helpless, a 
custom to which Dyer, in the Fleece alludes: 

—--and the rough shore 

Of CafFres, land of savage Hottentots, 

Whose hands unnatural hasten to the grave 
Their aged parents : what barbarity 
And brutal ignorance, where social 
Trade is held contemptible ! ye gliding sails, 

From these inhospitable gloomy shores 
Indignant turn, and to the friendly Cape, 

Which gives the cheerful mariner good-hope 
Of prosperous voyage, steer. 

Some of these forsaken infants have occasionally 
been adopted by Europeans, and brought up accord¬ 
ing to their customs ; but, in several well authentica¬ 
ted instances, they have, when arrived at years of 
maturity, deserted their foster-parents, and returned 
to customs and manners, which are probably famil¬ 
iar to their nature, though not their habits. 

At the age of eighteen the males are, w'ith much 
ceremony admitted to the company of men, when 
they renounce the society of their mothers, and bid 
an eternal farewell to all puerile amusements; and if 
after this inauguration the youth is found in the com¬ 
pany of women, he becomes the jest and derision of 
all his associates, and is excluded from the society of 
men till he again consent to undergo the same cere¬ 
mony. A Hottentot young man, thus freed from 
maternal authority, is permitted to beat his mother, 
which is sometimes put in practice for the sake of 
shewing his independence. 

On the death of an inhabitant of a kraal, the friends 
and relations set up a dismal howling, shouting, and 
clapping of hands ; and after six hours all the men 
and women of the kraal assemble before the entrance 
of the hut, the men forming one circle, and the wo- 



52 Relij^io7i of the Hottentots, 

men another, clapping their hands, and exclaiming ^^7, 
bo^ bo^ that is, father, father, father. The corpse is not 
suffered to be taken out through the door of the hut, 
but they uncover it for the purpose of removing the 
dead body, which is deposited in the cleft of a rock, 
or in some den of a wild beast, which they fill up 
with stones, to prevent the body from being devoured 
by voracious animals. The people return to the vil¬ 
lage, and ceremonies similar to those used at a wed¬ 
ding are performed, with this addition, that each elder 
takes up a handful of ashes, and scatters it over the 
company. The relations wear the caul of a sheep as 
mourning, and shave their heads in narrow stripes. 

Of the Religion of the Hottentots, 

The Hottentots do not appear to be sensible of the 
existence of any Being who is the origin and ruler of 
all things ; for, on being questioned, they will say 
they know nothing about the matter. They have a 
firm belief in the powers of magic, and acknowledge 
some evil being of great might and power; but they 
do not appear to pay him any sort of worship, al¬ 
though they attribute to him all the evil that happens, 
among which they reckon rain, cold, and thunder. 
In stormy weather the Hottentots abuse the thunder, 
and furiously, with any instrument they can lay hold 
of, threaten and bid defiance to the flashes of light¬ 
ning and peals of thunder, as they roll over their 
heads. 

They appear to have some idea of spirits, and a be¬ 
lief of a future state, as they accost their friends as 
soon as they are dead with reproaches for leaving 
them so soon ; at the same time admonishing them 
henceforth to demean themselves properly, that is, 
not to return to haunt them, nor allow themselves to 
be made use of by wizards, to bring any mischief 
on those who survive them. 


( 53 ) 

THE SLAVE TRADE. 


I CANNOT take my departure from the western 
coast of Africa, without giving some account of the 
inhuman Traffic in Slaves^ which divides itself under 
three heads ,* (1) the mode of obtaining the wretched 
slaves in Africa; (2) the barbarous treatment they 
meet with in their passage from Africa to the West 
Indies; and (3) their employment under European 
masters, in the West Indies and America. 

The methods of obtaining slaves are various :— 
When a ship engaged in this business arrives on the 
coast, the captain sends a message to the petty tyrant 
of the country, who instantly makes war upon some 
of his weaker neighbours, for the purpose of obtain¬ 
ing prisoners, all of whom he sells for slaves. His 
soldiers even set fire to villages in the night, while 
others lie in ambuscade to seize the victims as they 
attempt to escape. 

Kidnapping is also very common, and is followed 
professionally; large parties go armed three or four 
hundred miles up the country, picking up every one 
they meet with ,* they then drive them in herds like 
cattle. 

The slaves being captured and sold to the dealer, 
his business is to stow as many into his vessel as 
possible, or as the law permits. The space allowed 
to each man slave used to be six feet in length, and 
sixteen inches in breadth; for women and children 
the spaces were still smaller. They are fed twice a 
day with rice,and horse-beans, and sometimes, though 
rarely, with beef and coarse bread. After each meal 
they are allowed half a pint of water, and are forced, 
as an exercise to keep them in health, to jump in 
their irons, a practice which, by the slave dealers, is 
called, “ making them dance.” They are so crowded 
below the decks of the ship, that it is impossible to 


S4 The Slave Trade, 

walk among them without treading upon them. They 
have indeed not more room than a man has in his 
coffin, and numbers die in the course of every night 
from suffocation. From one third to one half die in 
the passage ; and nearly half of those who survive 
this dreadful voyage die afterwards in the seasoning. 

When a slave ship arrives in the West Indies, the 
negroes, who, by the miseries and privations of their 
voyage, are reduced to skin and bone, are taken on 
shore, 50 or 60 at a time, and sold by public auction 
to the best bidder. They are shown upon a hogshead, 
one at a time, and fetch from one to twenty guineas 
a piece, according to their strength and qualities. 
The interesting plate annexed, represents a group of 
these unfortunate creatures just landed in the West 
Indies, and on their way to the place of sale. They 
are led on by one sailor and driven along by the other. 
The European planter, who is surveying them as an 
article of trade, exhibits a striking contrast to the 
group of wretched blacks. 

Slaves in the West Indies are either employed as 
“ field slaves or as “■ in or out door slaves.” The 
former begin their work at break of day, and work 
in rows, under the whip of their drivers. They con¬ 
tinue their labours (with two intermissions, half an 
hour during the morning, and two hours at noon,) till 
sun set, and in the crop season the labour is of much 
longer duration. The best allowance of food is a 
pint of grain a day, and half a herring. Those who 
work in doors are cruelly beat for the most trifling 
offences, or even for unavoidable accidents. When 
whipped, they are generally suspended by the arms 
with weights at their feet. To kill a negro is not 
considered as‘murder, and it is common for trifling 
offences to cut off their limbs. Volumes indeed 
would not suffice to detail the barbarities which are 
practised in the West Indies, in South America, and 
in the United States, upon this unfortunate race. 


Negroes just landed from a Slave Ship. 










































































































































































































































































































rv 




'1 






.1 





\ 


V 





4 




( 55 ) 

MADAGASCAR. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 

CUSTOMS. OF THE INHABITANTS OF MADAGASCAR. 

Of their Peraons^ Dress^ Manners^ Dispositionst Mode 
of Salutation^ Religion^ and Funeral Rites, 

THE natives are commonly tail, well proportion¬ 
ed, and of an olive complexion, inclining to black. 
The common people wrap only a short piece of cot¬ 
ton or silk about their waists ; but persons of distinc¬ 
tion of both sexes adorn their wrists with rings of 
the most valuable metal they can procure. The wo¬ 
men wear robes reaching to their feet, covered with 
a garment in tht form of a straight shirt, which en¬ 
velops the whole body. They are exemplary in their 
conjugal obedience, are amiable, and very agreeable 
in their manners and dispositions. 

The most respectful mode of salutation is licking 
a superior’s feet, which abject submi^>sion is practised 
by those who address their prince, and by wives when 
their husbands return from war. 

They profess Paganism, acknowledging, however, 
the existence of one supreme God, and four others, 
to whom the care of the four quarters of the globe 
are entrusted. f’hese are regarded as the immedi¬ 
ate servants of the great God, and as mediators be¬ 
tween him and man, on which account they receive 
religious veneration, and are addressed by prayers 
and sacrifices. Besides these invisible deities, they 
keep in their houses a small portable idol, who is sup¬ 
posed to be a kind of talisman, to which their guar¬ 
dian genius is attached, and by which, as a proper 
medium, he is to be invoked. 

They treat the memory of their forefathers with 
great veneration. Every family has a peculiar burial 


56 The King's Entry into the Capital^ ££?e. 
place, which is never entered without sacrificing a 
bullock on the spot. When any person is to be in¬ 
terred, the chief of the family goes to the gate of the 
cemetery ; and calling aloud on all the dead deposited 
there by name, he concludes, with observing that such 
a relation has come to repose among them, and hoping 
they will own him for a friend. 


ABYSSINIA. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS. AND 

CUSTOMS, OF THE INHABITANTS OF ABYaSINIA. 

UPPER Ethiopia is generally divided into Nubia, 
Abyssinia, and Ahrx ; the following is a short ac¬ 
count of what Mr. Bruce considered as the most re¬ 
markable trait among the Abvssinians : 

Of the King'*s triumphant Entry into bis Capital^ after 
a victory over some rtbellioua subjects. 

The sovereign was bareheaded ; over his shoul¬ 
ders and down his back hung a cloak of black velvet 
with a silver fringe. A boy b\ the stirrup, held a 
silver wand about five feet long, and behind him. all 
the soldiers, who had slain an enemy and taken the 
spoils from them, had their lances and firelocks orna¬ 
mented with shreds of scarlet cloth, one piece for 
every man he had slain. One of them was remarka¬ 
ble for having his whole lance and javelin, horse and 
person, covered over with shreds of scarlet cloth, 
which indicated his great success over the enemies. 

The head'dress of the governors of the provinces 
was a large broad fillet bound upon the forehead, and 
tied bthind; in the middle of this was a horn, or a 
conical piece of silver, gilt, about four inches long, 





Marriage of the King^ $7 

something in the shape of a candle-extinguisher. 
This is called the horn, and is worn only in reviews 
or parades after victory, which, as their religion par¬ 
takes very much of the Jewish ceremonies, may have 
originated from such passages as the following, ta¬ 
ken from the Psalms, &c. “ But my horn shall thou 
exalt like the horn of an unicorn. The horn of the 
righteous shall be exalted, &c.” 

Near the king were the great officers of state ; then 
the household troops ; and then followed the execu¬ 
tioner of the camp and his attendants ; and last of 
all, amidst the kings baggage, came a man bearing the 
stuffed skin of an unfortunate rebel upon a pole, which 
he hung upon the branch of a tree before the king’s 
palace, appropriated for public executions. 

Of the Marriage of the King^ and his treatment of 
the Princes, 

The king in his marriage uses no other ceremony 
than sending an officer to the house where the lady 
lives, who is to announce to her, that it is the king’s 
pleasure she should remove instantly to the palace. 
She dresses and obeys, and has an apartment assign¬ 
ed her in the palace, and a house in any other part 
she chooses. The king orders the priest to pro¬ 
nounce, that he, the king, has chosen his hand maid 
for his queen ; upon which the crown is put upon her 
head. Polygamy being allowed, the branches of the 
royal house are often numerous; to prevent, there¬ 
fore, disturbance in the desire of succeeding to the 
throne, the princes are all confined upon a high 
mountain, and maintained at the public expense. 
Sometimes they are so ill treated by the persons to 
whose care they are entrusted, they die for want of 
the common necessaries of life. 


VOL. II. 


G 


( 58 ) 

Description of the bloody Banquet, 

In the capital, where one is safe at all times, or in 
the country villages, when the rains have become so 
constant that the vallies will not bear a horse to pass 
them, or that men cannot venture far from home for 
fear of destruction from sudden torrents, occasioned 
by showers on the mountains, a number of people of 
the best fashion in the villages, of both sexes, coui- 
tiers in the palace, or citizens in the town, meet to 
dine between twelve and one o’clock. 

A long table is set in the middle of a large room, 
and benches for the guests. A cow or bull is brought 
close to the door, and the feet strongly tied. The 
dewlap, or that part of the skin which hangs from 
the throat, is cut as far as the fat of which it consists, 
from the wound a few drops of blood fall, in con¬ 
formity to some part of the Jewish law ; then two of 
the men fall to work on the back of the beast, and on 
each side of the spine they cut skin deep, and putting 
their fingers between the flesh and the skin, they be¬ 
gin to strip the animal half way down the ribs, and so 
on to the buttock. All the flesh of the buttocks is 
cut off in solid square pieces without bones ; and the 
dreadful noise of the poor animal is a signal for the 
company to sit down to table. 

Instead of plates there are round cakes about the 
size of a pancake, but thicker and tougher. Some of 
these serve for bread, the master makes use of oth¬ 
ers to wipe his fingers, and afterwards the servant 
eats them as bread to his dinner. 

Two or three servants come with square pieces of 
beef in their bare hands, laying them on cakes placed 
like dishes on the table; and the guests with their 
knives immediately fall to. The company are so 
ranged that one man sits between two women the man 
with his long knife cuts a thin piece, which is equal 


Manners^ £lfc. of the Greeks, 59 

to a large beef steak, while the motion of the fibres 
is very distinct; but no man thinks of feeding him¬ 
self. The women alternately take the steak ; cut into 
pieces the size of small dice, and, having well pep¬ 
pered them, wrap each piece in some of the cake, put 
them into the men’s mouths as fast as possible, so 
that they are often in danger of being choked. The 
higher the rank of the man, the larger the piece he 
takes into his mouth, and the more noise he makes 
in chewing it. They have a proverb that says,“ Beg¬ 
gars and thieves only eat small pieces, or without 
noise.” He never drinks till he has finished eating, 
and before he begins, he feeds each of his neighbours 
in the same way, one with his right hand and the 
other with his left. He then drinks out of a large 
handsome horn, and when the ladies are satisfied, 
they all drink together with mirth and great festivity. 

All the time the poor beast is bleeding at the door, 
nor do they dispatch him, till they have cut almost 
all the flesh from the legs and thighs. 


GREECE. 

Having finished the account of the manners and 
customs of the principal nations that inhabit the vast 
continent of Africa, a description of the habits and 
manners which are peculiar to Europeans will come 
next under review, beginning with the Grecian isl¬ 
ands, and Turkey in Europe. 

According to M. Buflbn, the Greeks, Neapolitans, 
Sicilians, Corsicans, Sardinians, and Spaniards, being 
situated nearly under the same latitude, are very sim¬ 
ilar in their complexions. They are all more swar¬ 
thy than the French, the British, the Germans, the 
Polandcrs, and the other inhabitants of the northern 
parts of Europe, as far as Lapland, where another 
race of men is to be met with, which has been already 
described. 




( 60 ) 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS, OF THE GREEKS. 

Constantinople affords a mixture of Turks, 
Greeks, Armenians, Ji^ws, and Europeans. The 
Turks are the most numerous, but of these ample 
descriptions have been given in the account of Asiat¬ 
ic Turkey. The Greeks, whose general manners are 
the same, whether as inhabitants of the city of Con¬ 
stantinople, or the various islands in the Archipela¬ 
go, now claim the reader’s attention. 

Of the Houses^ Furniture^ and Domestic Employ- 
ments of the Grecian Women* 

The houses in Greece have each only one story, to 
which is generally attached a large garden. The 
women are closely confined at home, they do not 
even appear at church till they are married. In the 
houses large rooms are appropriated to the mistress, 
for the carrying on embroidery and other works with 
her attendants. On each side are galleries that lead 
to the dining-rooms and bed-chambers. The men 
have their separate apartments- A lamp is burning 
during the night in the bed chambers of a Greek, 
which, among the higher ranks, arises from custom 
or convenience ; but the lower sort are led to it by 
devotion, the lamp being generally placed before an 
image. There are no chimneys in Greek houses, but 
a brazier is placed in the middle of the room, that 
those who are not sufficiently warmed at a distance, 
may draw near it. To defend the face from the heat 
and smoke of the brazier, it is placed under a square 
table, which is covered with a carpet reaching on all 
sides to the ground, this is ornamented with silk, 
more or less magnificent, about which sofas or cush¬ 
ions are placed, for the accommodation of the com¬ 
pany. It is called a tendour^ and is chiefly used by 


Houses^ Furniture^ £sPc. of the Greeks* 61 
the ladies while engaged, at their embroidery. Some 
Turkish women, seeing the lady of a French am¬ 
bassador in a great hoop, exclaimed, with astonish¬ 
ment, “See, see, my lady ambassadress with her 
tendour*’^ 

Of Grecian Servants^ Modes of Salutation^ and Dress, 

The female slaves of the Greeks are treated with 
great gentleness and humanity. After a certain term 
of servitude, they seem to take pleasure in making 
them free. Some take slaves very young, and adopt 
them as the children of their souls^ a name by which 
they are called. A slave is not unfrequently the con¬ 
fidant of her mistress, as well as nurse, and on certain 
occasions her counsellor and adviser. The servants 
are always ready to follow their mistress when she 
goes abroad. The train of slaves and servants form 
the equipage of the Greeks. A woman of character 
among the Greeks must never be seen from home 
without one servant at least. Those of very high 
rank, or who are ambitious of making a parade of 
their opulence and vanity, are attended by an innu¬ 
merable troop of domestics. 

The Greek ladies present the hand to be kissed by 
their daughters, their slaves, and other persons, their 
inferiors 5 and the young women have an extraordi¬ 
nary method of saluting each other. It consists in kiss¬ 
ing the eyes, while they lay hold of each other’s ears. 

The ladies of Greece have always delighted in jew¬ 
els : their girdle, buckles, necklaces, bracelets, are all 
profusely enriched with them; and, notwithstanding 
the vast satisfaction that they enjoy in ornamenting 
their heads with the most beautiful flowers of the 
garden, the diamond sparkles in the same lock with 
the jesamine and rose. It is very common for them 
to exert their utmost skill in dressing, without the 
least intention of going out, or even being seen by a 
stranger, but solely to indulge their own and their hus- 

G 2 


62 Marriages and Funerals of the Greeks* 
band’s fancy. When a lady makes a visit at any dis- 
tance, she avoids exposing her jewels to the passen¬ 
gers in the street, which are carried by a domestic t© 
the door of the friend’s house, where she dresses.— 
The fan is used instead of a parasol: it is large 
and round, composed of peacocks’ feathers, and has 
an ivory handle ; in the centre is a mirror. When 
overcome with heat, she throws herself upon a sofa, 
and a slave takes the fan, and, by a judicious man¬ 
agement, excites a gentle breeze to refresh his mis¬ 
tress. The veil worn by the Greek ladies is gene¬ 
rally of muslin bordered with gold. That of the ser¬ 
vants or common people of a coarser kind of plain 
muslin : it is always white. They wear also a sort 
of scarf about the neck, which occasionally goes over 
the head, and serves to screen it from the wind and 
rain. When a la(^ comes into her friend's house to 
visit, if she take oft her veil, it is a sign she intends to 
make some stay. 

Of Greek Marriages and Funerals, 

The modern Greeks, adverting to the customs of 
the ancients, have retained the greatest part of the 
ceremonies which were formerly used in the celebra¬ 
tion of nuptials. On the eve of the marriage day 
the bride is led in triumph by her female acquaint¬ 
ance to the bath. Numerous attendants and mu¬ 
sic are always to be found upon these occasions.— 
The bride, profusely adorned, covered with a red 
veil, proceeds with solemn pace, supported by her fe¬ 
male friends and relations. The splendid torch of 
Hymen still maintains its place among the modern 
Greeks. It blazes in their processions, and is an at¬ 
tendant in the chamber of the newly married couple, 
where it remains till the whole is consumed. If by 
any accident it should become extinguished, the most 
unfortunate presages would be drawn \ to prevent 
which unremitting vigilance is used. 








X 


\ 




A Man and Woman of Mylasa in Greece. Greek Ladies. 


























































Reltgioii of the Greeks, 6S 

The bridegroom and bride, before their presenta¬ 
tion to the altar, are each adorned with a crown or 
chaplet, which during the ceremony, are changed by 
the priest. A cup of wine, immediately after bene¬ 
diction, is given to the married couple ; it is then de¬ 
livered to the sponsors ; and finally to the witnesses 
of the marriage. 

The bride is supported by her friends, who accom¬ 
pany her home, and who prevent her from touching 
the threshold of the door, which would be reckoned 
ominous. She is then compelled to walk over a 
sieve, which is covered with a carpet, in the way to 
her husband’s room. If the sieve should not crackle, 
as she passes, it would be considered as very preju¬ 
dicial to the lady’s honour, but all are happy, provi¬ 
ded the ordeal prove propitious. 

A Grecian funeral is attended by the nearest rela¬ 
tions and friends of the deceased; women with their 
hair dishevelled, and weeping; they cry indeed, with¬ 
out ceasing, as soon as a death happens, and refuse 
nourishment and sleep, until they can exist no longer 
without them. When a young unmarried woman 
dies, the body is dressed in the richest habits, and 
the head crowned with flowers. The women throw 
roses, and scatter scented water on the bier, as it pass¬ 
es along the streets. 

The funeral feast is never omitted by the Greeks ; 
the nearest relation is charged with the preparation, 
and with this terminates the funeral ceremony. 

Of the religion of the Greeks, 

The Greeks are extremely credulous, and attached 
to prodigies, auguries, omens and dreams ; they are 
constant observers of fasts, and of public worship ; 
they assemble at church before sun-rise, and are kept 
in awe by their priests, who occasionally threaten 
them with excommunication, and an exclusion from 


64 Religion of the Greeks* 

the assembly of the faithful. The Greek religion is 
now become that of the Russians; the priests of both 
nations are habited in the same manner; they have 
their venerable caverns and forests, and their conse¬ 
crated waters. On certain days of the year, they as¬ 
semble in great numbers, and drink of those waters ; 
these days are accounted religious festivals. The 
borders of the fountains are ornamented with little 
pieces of linen or stuff, as trophies of the virtues of 
the spring, in having restored so many persons to 
health. They observe the same method of returning 
thanks to the saint invoked, and if the event prove 
propitious, an offering is made of a bit of stuff, or 
some little trinket, which is affixed to the image. 

The Greek churches have four lents every year ; 
they baptize their children at the age of eight or ten 
days, dipping them three times in the water, which 
in cold weather is warmed. The Lord’s supper is 
administered to infants, if they are not likely to live. 
After baptism the child is anointed with oil, and 
drugs, and wine, kept in alabaster boxes. 

When a person is sick5 he is anointed with oil by 
the priests, of whom three is the smallest number al¬ 
lowed to perform the ceremony; they anoint even 
the sick jnan’s house with sacred oil, making the 
sign of the cross on the doors and door-posts. 

They censure the worship of images, but adore pic¬ 
tures in their churches, before which they burn in¬ 
cense. With this likewise the people are frequently 
perfumed; and they universally abstain from blood. 
In their churches they neither sit nor kneel, but when 
fatigued with standing they arc permitted the use of 
crutches. 

The revenues of the priests are very small, ten 
pounds being considered as a good living, and out of 
this a part is paid to the bishop; they are however, 
greatly esteemed by the people, who always behave 
to them with much respect. 


( 65) 


ITALY. 

1>ESCRIPTI0N OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE ITALIANS. 

Of their Persons and Dispositions* 

THE Italians are, in general, well proportioned, ac¬ 
tive and comely % with such expressive countenances 
as have greatly assisted their painters in the expres¬ 
sion of real beauty on the canvass. The ladies are 
remarkably handsome, and are said to possess all that 
delrcacy of feeling which gives birth to the enthusi¬ 
asm of love. 

The modern Italians are celebrated for their ex¬ 
treme sobriety, the immoderate use of strong liquors 
being almost universally discountenanced. Under 
every form of government the natives seem cheer¬ 
fully to acquiesce, or, at least, they conceal their sen¬ 
timents, by observing a strict silence on political sub¬ 
jects. In their dispositions they are rather vindic¬ 
tive than brave, superstitious than devout. The mid¬ 
dling classes are strongly attached to original habits 
and customs, and seem averse from every idea-of 
improvement; subsisting chiefly on vegetables, their 
spirits are seldom subject to those depressions which 
an animal diet is thought to occasion. In no coun¬ 
try, however, is the pride of birth more perceptible, 
for though, perhaps, the whole of Italy contains very 
few descendants from the ancient Romans, the pre¬ 
sent inhabitants generally consider themselves as the 
actual representatives of that once celebrated people, 
and affect to regard the rest of Europe with contempt. 

Dyer, in his ruins of Rome, speaking of Liberty 
as the founder of that ancient city, says : 


66 Dress arid Dispositions of the Italians, 

—---Thy hand benign 

Rear’d up her tow’ry battlements in strength, 

Bent her wide bridges o’er the swelling stream 
Of the Tuscan Tiber ; thine these solemn domes, .. 
Devoted to the voice of humble pray’r; 

And thine those piles^, undeck’d, capacious, vast. 

In days of dearth, where tender charity 
Dispens’d her timely succours to the poor. 

Thine, too, those musically-falling founts. 

To slake the clammy lip adown they fall, 

Musical ever, while from yon blue hills. 

Dim in the clouds, the radiant aqueducts • 

Turn their innumerable arches o’er. 

The spacious desert, bright’ning in the sun, 

Proud, and more proud in their august approach. 
High o’er irriguous vales, and woods, and towns. 
Glide the soft whisp’ring waters in the wind. 

And here united pour their silver streams 
Among the figur’d rocks, in murmuring falls, 

Musical ever. 


In their dress the Italians observe a due medium 
between the modes adopted by the French and Span¬ 
iards ; their dispositions are generally considered as 
equally remote from the volatility of the former and 
from the affected gravity of the latter. By some tra¬ 
vellers they are characterized as a grateful, obliging 
people, extremely affable to strangers, and nice in all 
the punctilios of civility : at the same time they are 
too retentive of the sense of injuries, which leads' 
them sometimes to the commission of acts of treach¬ 
ery, and assassination. The nobility and gentry lavish 
their money on fine houses, paintings, beautiful gar¬ 
dens, grottos, fountains, and cascades; rather than 
keeping splendid tables, and indulging in the luxu¬ 
ries common in other kingdoms of Europe. 

One of the most remarkable peculiarities of the Ita¬ 
lians is, that they account the commencement of their 
day from sun-set, and their clocks strike all the hours 
from one to twenty-four. According to this meth¬ 
od of computation the hour of noon varies every day. 


* Public Granaries. 



Religion^ £s?c, of the Italians. 67 

The Roman catholic religion is universally estab¬ 
lished throughout Italy, but the power of the inquisi¬ 
tion is very circumscribed; and persons of all reli¬ 
gions live unmolested in Italy, provided they behave 
with circumspection. 

In Turin the manner of sepulture is highly disgust¬ 
ing to every person who possesses a just sense of de¬ 
cency ; for a corpse after having been carried in pro¬ 
cession to the grave, is generally thrown into it with¬ 
out a coffin ; numbers, indeed, are at times thrust in¬ 
discriminately into one vault, in the same indecent 
manner, and as every parish is furnished with a gen¬ 
eral one for the reception of the poor, the noxious ef¬ 
fluvia penetrating into the churches, often produce 
fatal effects. 

Though the Florentines affect great pomp, many of 
the nobility carry on a retail trade in wine from their 
cellar windows ; having broken flasks affixed to them 
by way of signs. 

In the church-yard belonging to the cathedral of 
Pisa stands the famous leaning tower of Pisa. A 
plummet let down from the top falls fifteen feet from 
the building. 

In many parts of Italy every precaution is made 
use of to protect the inhabitants from the heat of the 
sun ; such as building the apartments low, paving 
them with marble, and cooling them with fountains 
and water spouts. Their beds are surrounded with 
curtains of gause tacked to the floor and ceiling, to 
prevent molestation from the gnats. It is customary 
to sleep two or three hours immediately after dinner. 

The vintage is a time of general festivity, when 
the common people give themselves up to all manner 
of licentiousness: but the summer at Rome appears 
very tedious, and it is commonly said, that none but 
dogs and idiots will walk the streets in the day time 
during that season. 


( 68 ) 

NAPLES. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS, OF THE NEAPOLITANS. 

IN London and Paris, says Dr. Moore, the peo¬ 
ple who fill the streets are mere passengers, hurry¬ 
ing from place to place on business; and when they 
choose to converse, or to amuse themselves, they re¬ 
sort to public walks or gardens : at Naples, the cit¬ 
izens have fewer avocations of business to excite 
their activity ; they have no public walks to which 
they can resort, and arc, therefore, more frequently 
seen sauntering and conversing in the streets, where 
a great proportion of the poorest sort, for want of 
habitations, are obliged to spend the night as well as 
the day. 

The usual noise heard in the houses of London 
from the streets, is that of carriages; but at Naples, 
where they talk with uncommon vivacity, and where 
whole streets, full of talkers are in continual employ¬ 
ment, the noise of the carriages is completely drown¬ 
ed in the aggregated clack of human voices. In the 
midst of all this idleness, fewer riots or outrages of 
any kind happen than might be expected in a town 
where the police is far from being strict, and where 
such multitudes of poor unemployed people meet 
together every day. This partly proceeds from the 
national character of the Italians, and partly from the 
common people being universally sober, and never 
inflamed with spiritous liquors. Iced water and lem¬ 
onade are among the luxuries of the lowest people; 
the half-starved lazarone is often tempted to spend 
the small pittance destined for the maintenance of his 
family on this bewitching beverage, as the most dis¬ 
solute in London spend their wages in gin; so that 
the same extravagance which cools the lower classes 


Of the Convents of Naples, 69 

of one city, tends to inflame those of the other to acts 
of excess and brutality. 

There is no city, with the same number of inhabi¬ 
tants, in which so few contribute to the wealth of the 
community by productive labour, as Naples; but the 
number of priests, monks, fidlers, lawyers, nobility, 
footmen, and lazzaroni, who are what in London would 
be denominated blackguards, surpass all reasonable 
proportion; these last are computed at thirty or for*- 
ty thousand. If these poor fellows are idle, it is not 
their own fault; they are continually running about 
the streets, like the barbers and other tradesmen of 
China, offering their service and begging for employ¬ 
ment. 

The Neapolitian nobility are extremely fond of 
splendour and show, which appear in the brilliancy 
of their equipages, the number of their attendants, 
the richness of their dress, and the grandeur of their 
titles. 

It is the mode in Naples to have two running foot¬ 
men very gaily dressed before the carriage, and three 
or four servants in rich liveries behind ; these attend¬ 
ants are generally the handsomest young men that 
can be procured. The carriages and harness for the 
horses correspond with the servants in the same style 
of elegance. 

The richest and most commodious convents in Eu¬ 
rope, for both sexes are in this city ; the most beau¬ 
tiful and fertile hills of the environs are covered with 
them ; a small part of their revenue is spent in feed¬ 
ing the poor, the monks distributing bread and soup 
to a certain number every day before the doors of the 
convents. Some of the Friars follow the practice of 
physic and surgery; and to each convent there is an 
apothecary’s shop, from which medicines are deliv¬ 
ered to the poor gratis. 

The lazzaroni, form a considerable part of the in¬ 
habitants of Naples; and have, on some occasions., 

VOL. II. H 


70 Of the Lazzaroni of Naples. 

had the government of the city, for a short time, in 
their own hands. They are computed at more than 
thirty thousand, the greater part of whom have no 
dwelling-houses, but sleep every night under porti¬ 
cos, piazzas, or any kind of shelter they can find.— 
Those of them who have wives and children live in 
the suburbs of the city, in huts, or caverns, or cham¬ 
bers dug out of the mountains. Some gain a liveli¬ 
hood by fishing, others by carrying burdens to and 
from the shipping: many walk about the streets ready 
to run on errands, or to perform any labour in their 
power, for a very small recompense. 

This class of people are treated with the greatest 
tyranny by the nobility; and even by their livery ser¬ 
vants ; instead of calling to them to make way when 
the noise in the streets prevents the people from hear¬ 
ing the approach of the carriages, a stroke across the 
shoulders with the cane of the running footman is the 
usual warning they receive. Nothing animates this 
people to insurrection but some universal cause, as a 
scarcity of bread ; every other grievance they endure 
as if it were their charter. When we consider,’^ 
says an ingenious traveller, “ thirty thousand human 
creatures, without beds or habitations, wandering al¬ 
most naked, in search of food through the streets of 
a well-built city; when we think of the oportunities 
they have of being together, of comparing their own 
destitute situation with the affluence of others, one 
cannot help being astonished at their patience.” 

So indifferent are the modern Italians to objects of 
antiquity, that the ancient city of Psestum or Posido- 
nia, in the kingdom of Naples, was accidentally dis¬ 
covered by a painter’s apprentice within the last cen¬ 
tury. Inexhaustible mines of curiosities are found 
among the ruins of Herculanuem, a city lying be¬ 
tween Naples and Mount Vesuvius, which was near¬ 
ly destroyed by an earthquake during the reign of 
Nero; and in the first year of Titus it was totally 


Dispositions of the Venitians. 71 

overwhelmed by a stream of lava from the neigh¬ 
bouring volcano, which in its progress filled up the 
streets, and overtopped the houses in some places 
to the height of sixty-eight feet, and in others to up¬ 
wards of a hundred feet. Some traces of this city 
were discovered in 1713 , but in 1736 the city itself 
was, by the industry of the Neapolitans, made visi¬ 
ble, also the bed of the river by which it was for¬ 
merly watered. The temple of Jupiter, theatre, stat¬ 
ues, busts, paintings, manuscripts, furniture, and uten¬ 
sils of every kind, were brought to light. It appears 
that the streets of the city were straight and regular, 
the houses uniform ; some of the rooms were floored 
with marble, others with beautiful mosaic work, and 
the meaner sort with bricks three feet long and six 
inches thick. A few human skeletons were discover¬ 
ed, and an inconsiderable quantity of silver and gold. 

Pompeia, another town, involved in the same de¬ 
struction, was not found till forty years after the lat¬ 
ter. A late traveller observes that the principal street 
was not very broad, and that the traces of carriage 
wheels were distinctly to be seen on the pavement. 
The houses were small, but neat and very convenient; 
the walls were of stucco, ornamented with paintings, 
representing animals, &c.; the houses had each one 
small room from the passage, supposed to have been 
the shop with a window projecting to the street, ap¬ 
parently contrived for displaying goods to the best 
advantage. 


VENICE. 

description of the character, manners, and 

CUSTOMS OF THE VENITIANS. 

THE inhabitants of Venice are a lively ingenious 
people, extavagantly fond of public amusements, with 




72 Persons and Houses of the Vemtians. 
an uncommon relish for humour, and yet more attach¬ 
ed to the real enjoyments of life, than to those which 
depend on ostentation, and proceed from vanity. The 
common people display qualities rarely to be found in 
their sphere of life, being remarkably sober, obliging 
to strangers, and gentle in their intercourse with one 
another. 

The Venitians are, in general, tall and well made 
of a brown ruddy colour, with dark eyes ; the women 
have a fine countenance, with expressive features, and 
a skin of rich carnation $ they dress their hair in a fan¬ 
ciful manner, which becomes them very much ; they 
are of an easy address, and have no aversion from 
cultivating an acquaintance with those strangers who 
are presented by relations, or are properly recom¬ 
mended to them. Foreigners arc under less restraint 
here than the natives, and many, after having lived 
in most of the capitals of Europe, have preferred the 
city of Venice, on account of the variety of amuse¬ 
ments, the gentle manners of the inhabitants, and the 
perfect freedom allowed in every thing, except in 
blaming the measures of government. 

The houses are thought inconvenient by many of 
the English ; the floors are of a red kind of plaster, 
with a brilliant glossy surface, more beautiful than 
wood, and far preferable in case of fire, the progress 
of which they are calculated to check. The principal 
apartments are on the second floor: the first is sel¬ 
dom inhabited, and is often filled with lumber; 
they perfer the second as being farther removed from 
the moisture of surrounding lakes, or as being better 
lighted and more cheerful. 

The number of play-houses in Venice is very ex¬ 
traordinary, considering the size of the place. A tri¬ 
fle is demanded at the door for admittance ; this en¬ 
titles a person to go into the pit, where he may look 
about and determine what part of the house he will 
sit in. There are rows of chairs placed in the front 


Government of Venice. 7S 

of the pit next the orchestra, the seats of which are 
folded to the backs and fastened by a lock; those 
who choose to take them, pay a litde more money to 
the door-keeper, who immediately unlocks the seat. 
These chairs are occupied by decent looking people, 
but the back part of the pit is filled with footmen and 
mechanics in their working clothes. The nobility 
and better sort of citizens have boxes retained for the 
year, but there are always a sufficient number to let to 
strangers, and the price of them varies every night 
according to the season and the piece acted. 

Since the destruction of the Venitian republic by 
the power of France, and its cession to the Austrian 
government, little is known of the changes which 
have taken place in the internal administration of its 
affairs. On account, however, of the celebrity of its 
constitution prior to that event, it is thought right to 
introduce our readers to a knowledge of what has so 
lately existed. 

Since the revolution of the year 1297’, the great 
council has consisted of all the nobility of Venice that 
are of age, that is of about fifteen hundred persons, 
who have a right to take their seat in the senate when 
they please. This great council is the sole sovereign, 
and possesses the power of making laws. Ft includes 
in itself the three principal chambers, of which the 
third is the most deserving of attention. The power 
of this chamber is dreadful to the nobility, against 
whom it is directed. From its sentence there is no 
appeal ; of its actions it renders no account. Its au¬ 
thority is concentrated in three persons, who inspire 
- the whole nobility with terror. Their dreadful max¬ 
im is, “ Funishy before you examine the guiltyF By 
them the doge or duke himself may be sentenced te 
death. Many of the nobles are secretly cited to their 
tribunal, from which they return no more. 

About a century ago Antonio Fascarino, a young 
senator, fell a sacrifice to this inquisition. His good 
H 2 


74 Annual Ceremony of the Doge of Venice, 
qualities, his understanding, and the love the people 
bore him, excited the jealousy of these secret inspec¬ 
tors. He was summoned, and put to death. 

Notwithstanding the severity of this tribunal, the 
administration of the Venitian government, as it re¬ 
garded the people at large, was esteemed wise and 
mild. It never infringed the freedom of persons in 
the common concerns of life. If they obeyed the 
laws, and entered into no discourse against the gov¬ 
ernment, they were perfectly secure. Whoever spoke 
too freely was once, or twice, or even thrice, cited 
and cautioned, and if no attention were paid to these 
admonitions, the disobedient was imprisoned for a 
limited time. 

The doge enjoyed princely honours in his palace 
and in the council. He was distinguished by his dress 
from the other senators ; when he addressed the great 
council, it was in these words, “ Great council, sove¬ 
reign of the republic, and of me.” He was said to be 
a king in purple, a counsellor in the council, a prison¬ 
er in the city, and out of it a private person. 

On the day of Ascension, he always went upon the 
water in a superb vessel, attended by the lords, foreign 
ambassadors, &c. to marry the Adriatic sea. On this 
occasion he used to throw a gold ring into the ocean, 
and at the same time pronounce the following Latin 
sentence ; Desponsamus tc, mare, in signum veri per- 
petuique dominii. We espouse thee^ oh sea ! in token 
of true and perpetual so’oereignty. 

This annual ceremony was performed in commem¬ 
oration of the victory obtained by the Venitians in the 
year 1177, over the emperor Frederic Barbarossa : 
when pope Alexander fled from him, and took refuge 
in Venice. The conqueror, Ziani, made his public 
entry on Ascension-day, leading the emperor’s son 
prisoner. The pope went out Jto meet the doge on 
the shore, gave him his ring, and commanded him to 
cast it into the sea, by which it should be subject 


A Man and Woman of Venice. \ Widow of Cairo presenting the Bread of Com- 

, inemoration to a Lady of Quality. 



















































































































Of Genoa. 75 

to all succeeding doges, as the wife is to her hus¬ 
band. 

When the doge died, his body, with all the insig¬ 
nia, lay three days in state in the palace ; during which 
time his government was scrutinized by inquisitors 
appointed for the purpose. His creditors were like- 
wise^summoned. If his government were pronoun¬ 
ced unjust, his relations were fined; they likewise 
were obliged to pay his debts ; neither was he bu¬ 
ried at the expence of the republic. A similar court 
sat in judgment over the dead kings of ancient 
Egypt. 


GENOA. 

ONE of the most singular things at Genoa is, its 
public baking office, under the direction of a particu¬ 
lar magistrate, where alone bread can be lawfully 
made for sale, yet much is manufactured and sold in 
a contraband way, in various parts of the town, as 
well as a great deal in private familes, for their own 
use. Strangers, having witnessed this operation, can 
with difficulty eat Genoese bread afterwards. A scene 
of more disgusting filthiness can scarcely be conceiv¬ 
ed ; the workmen, who labour all night and rest in 
the day, on account of the heat, are naked, except a 
small cloth about the waist, and a pair of slippers ; 
but they actually knead the dough with their naked 
feet. Every part of the procees is in harmony with 
this elegant practice. 

Italy, taken as a whole, is happy in its soil and cli¬ 
mate : it produces not only the comforts but the luxu¬ 
ries of life in great abundance. Each district posses¬ 
ses some peculiar excellency, and affords some valua¬ 
ble commodity; the best wines, fruits, and oil, are 





/s Of Mount Vesuvius and Etna. 

among the general productions. Corn is raised in 
sufficient quantities to supply the demands of domes¬ 
tic consumption, and were the lands properly culti¬ 
vated, considerable exportations might be niade : 


Could Nature ’s bounty satisfy the breast, 

The sons of Italy were surely blest. 

Whatever fruits in different climes are found, 

That proudly rise or humbly court the ground ; 

Whatever blooms in torrid tracts appear. 

Whose bright succession decks the varied year ; 

Whatever sweets salute the northern sky 
With vernal leaves that blossom but to die ; 

These here desporting, own the kindred soil. 

Nor ask luxuriance from the planter’s toil; 

While sea-born gales their gelid wings expand 
To winnow fragrance round the smiling land. 

But small the bliss that sense alone bestows ; 

And sensual bliss is all this nation knows. 

In florid beauty, groves and fields appear, 

Men seem the only growth that dwindles here. 

Contrasted faults through all their manners reign, 

Though poor, luxurious; though submissive, vain ; 

Though grave, yet trifling; zealous, yet untrue ; 

And e’en in penance planing sins anew. Goldsmith. 

Some notice has been already taken of Mount Ve¬ 
suvius, yet this mountain, which at times has produc¬ 
ed such dreadful effects, if placed by the side of Etna, 
would appear but a small hill, the whole circuit of its 
base not exceeding thirty miles, while Etna covers a 
space of 180, and its height above sea is computed 
at about 11,000 feet. This enormous mass is sur¬ 
rounded by smaller mountains, some of which equal 
Vesuvius in size, and while the lava of the latter may 
issue its stream for seven miles, Etna will emit a li¬ 
quid fire thirty miles in length, to which Mr. Addi¬ 
son refers. 

Thus Etna, when in fierce eruptions broke, 

Fills heaven with ashes, and the earth with smokes 
Here crags of broken rocks are twirl’d on high. 

Here molten stones and scatter’d cinders fly : 

Its fury reaches the remotest coast, 

And strews the Asiatic shore with dust. 


Persons and Habits of the Spaniards, 

The crater of this mountain is described as an oval 
form ; the inner sides being of various declinations ; 
the bottom nearly horizontal, about two-thirds of a 
mile in circumference, with a large circular aperture, 
giving vent to a column of white smoke, at the bot¬ 
tom of which was visible a liquid fiery matter, like 
metal boiling in a furnace. Such is the height of Et¬ 
na, that the eruptions rarely attain the summit, but 
more usually break out at the sides. Near the crater 
begins the region of perpetual snow and ice, which is 
followed by vast forests of oaks, beeches, firs, and 
pines, while the upper regions are almost destitute of 
vegetation. In the middle region also appear chesnut 
trees of enormous size ; one in particular is distin¬ 
guished by the name di Cento Cavalli^ the circufer- 
ence of which has been found to be 204 feet, an amaz¬ 
ing phenomenon of vegetation. 


SPAIN. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE SPANIARDS. 

Of their Persons. 

THE Spaniards are for the most part moderately 
tall and thin, their features are re^lar, their hair and 
eyes are of a dark colour. The men shave their 
beards, but leave mustachios on the upper lip. The 
women are generally slender, and take great pains to 
acquire and preserve a genteel shape. 

Of their general Habits, 

The Spaniards are remarkable for great gravity of 
deportment and taciturnity. A pensive kind of dig- 




T8 General Habits of the Spaniards, 

nity uniformly marks their mien and air, and their 
pace is so extremely slow, that at a little distance from 
them it is difficult to say whether they move at all. 
They hold their prifests in so much veneration, Vhat 
they kiss the very hem of their garments, and pay 
them a degree of respect little short of idolatry.— 
Their regard for the female sex is almost equally en¬ 
thusiastic. It is common for a well-bred man to ap¬ 
proach a lady with his knees bended, kissing her 
hands; and if she favour him so much as to notice and 
commend any trinket he has, such as a watch, a ring, 
a jewel, or other toy, it would be reckoned extremely 
unpolite not to present her with it. Among the fol¬ 
lies and vices of the Spaniards may be ranked their 
unreasonable contempt of other nations, their pride 
and vanity, their indolence, avarice, and insatiable 
thirst for revenge. 

Immediately after getting out of bed, it is usual 
for persons of condition to drink a glass of water 
cooled with ice or snow, and afterwards chocolate, 
which is the most common beverage of almost all 
ranks. At dinner, in many parts of the country, the 
master of a family sits down to table in a chair; but 
the women and children sit cross legged on a carpet, 
after the manner of the Moors. The ladies drink on¬ 
ly water, and the gentlemen but little wine. After 
dinner they usually sleep two or three hours, during 
which time, in Madrid, the shops are shut, and few 
persons, except foreigners, are to be met with in the 
streets. They frequently take breakfast and supper 
in bed. 

The usual time for their visits is in the evening, 
when the men meet in public places, and the ladies 
visit each other at their houses, where the floors are 
covered with carpets, and cushions of silk or velvet, 
as they still retain the custom of the Moors of sitting 
on the floor. The title of donna is given to ladies of 
all ranks; those of distinction pay their visits in great 


Of the Aecomtnodation for Travellers, 79 
state ; they are carried in a chair by four men, of 
whom the two foremost are uncovered. Two others 
attend as a guard, and a seventh carries a lantern.— 
A coach drawn by mules immediately follows, con¬ 
taining her women, and another the gentlemen of her 
household, several menial servants walking after. 

Cf the Kinfs Mode of Travelling, 

The retinue of the king of Spain, when he takes a 
journey of any length, consists of from five to eight 
thousand persons; and so vain is his most Catholic 
Majesty of this parade, that he actually has a list of 
the attendants printed, and given to all the grandees 
in favour. While the court is on the road, no inter¬ 
est can secure to a traveller a carriage of any kind : 
all conveyances may be seized for the king’s use; 
and if any of the king’s court, or the king’s cooks, or 
his scullions, want a carriage, they take the first they 
meet with, leaving the owner of it, with all his bag¬ 
gage, on the highway, at a time when no other vehicle 
is to be had, nor beasts, nor house room, nor even 
food ; for the multitudes that follow his majesty fill 
all the houses, aud devour all the provisions. Like 
the king of the gypsies, his retinue strips the country 
without paying for any thing, sleep in the woods, and 
burn down the trees : and those who follow this court¬ 
ly train will behold along the road mules, and horses, 
and asses, lying dead through excessive fatigue. Ev¬ 
ery house that has been honoured by the king’s pre¬ 
sence, is distinguished by a chain hung over the door. 
The roads through which he is to pass are levelled, 
and every person is obliged to white wash the front 
of his house, that his majesty may witness the clean¬ 
liness of his subjects. 

Of the Accommodation for Travellers, 

Mr. Southey has given several curious descrip¬ 
tions of the accommodations he met wdth at the inns 


80 Of the Accommodation for Travellers, 
as he travelled in Spain. At one place he writes, “ In 
this room are placed two trestles : four planks are 
laid across these, and support a straw-stuffed mattress 
of immense thickness. Over this is another as dis¬ 
proportionately thin, and this is my bed. The seat 
of my chair is as high as the table I write upon. A 
lamp hangs upon the door. Above us are bare tim¬ 
bers, and the floor is tilled. I am used to vermin : to 
be fead is become the order of the night, and I sub¬ 
mit to it with all due resignation. Of the people : ex¬ 
treme filth and deplorable ignorance are the most 
prominent characteristics; yet there is a civility in 
the peasantry which Englishmen do not possess. I 
feel a pleasure when the passenger accosts me with 
the usual benediction, ^^God hewithyouT In anoth¬ 
er place, he says, “ We could only procure a most de¬ 
plorable room, with a hole above the roof to admit 
l ight as if up a chimney. It was long before we could 
procure tables or chairs. They spread beds for us 
on mats upon the floor. The roof was of cane, and 
the rats running over it in the night shook down the 
dirt on our heads. I lay awake the whole night, kill¬ 
ing the muskitoes as they settled on my face, while 
the inhabitants of the bed entertained themselves mer¬ 
rily at my expence.” 

The innkeepers are obliged to give a daily account 
to some magistrate of what persons have been at their 
house, their names, conduct, and conversation; and if 
a man pf suspicious appearance pass by their inn, they 
are bound to inform a magistrate of it, on pain of be¬ 
ing made answerable for any mischief he may do. 

The sight which to a traveller appears most extra¬ 
ordinary is, that of innumerable women kneeling by 
the side of a river to wash their linnen, the banks of 
which for ten miles are frequently covered with clothes 
that are sent out of the city for that purpose. 


( 81 ) 

Of Spanish Amusements. 

There are two theatres at Madrid, but the perform¬ 
ances are wretched. When the ave-bell rings, all 
the actors, as well as the audience, fall down upon 
their knees, and remain so for several minutes. The 
Spaniards are fond of masquerading, both on horse¬ 
back and on foot. They have a peculiar attachment 
to the game of chees, sometimes children decide the 
games begun by their parents, and it happens not un- 
frequently that the game is carried on by letters be¬ 
tween persons at a distance ; but the bull fights are 
the most favourite entertainments. The following de¬ 
scription will give a pretty accurate idea of this sort 
of amusement. 

- The bulls were confined in an area behind the am¬ 
phitheatre. Before they were admitted into the thea¬ 
tre, three combatants on horseback placed themselves 
at some distance, one on each side of, and another op¬ 
posite the door, at which the bull was to enter. A 
trumpet was then sounded, as a signal to let in the 
bull, and the man who opened the door got behind it 
immediately. During a quarter of an hour preceed- 
ing this period, the bulls had been teazed by persons 
placed on the ceilings of the stables, pricking them on 
the backs. 

The bull made directly at the first horseman, who 
received it on the point of the spear, held in the mid¬ 
dle tight to his side, and passing under his arm-pit— 
This weapon making a wide gash in the bull’s shoul¬ 
der, occasioned it to draw back. A fresh bull now 
entered, staring wildly about, and frightened by the 
clapping and hallooing of the assembled multitude. 
It then ran successively against the other two combat¬ 
ants, and from each received a deep wound. A sig¬ 
nal wa6 now given with the trumpet for the horsemen 
to retire, when the men on foot began their attack, 
VOL. II. I 


82 Different Classes of the Portuguese, 
who struck barbed darts in every part of the animals 
body. The trumpet again sounding, the matador ap¬ 
peared, carrying in his left hand a cloak, extended on 
a short stick, and in his right a two-edged sword. At 
the moment when the bull made furiously at him, he 
plunged his sword into its neck behind the horns, by 
which it instantly fell down dead. If the matador 
miss his aim he rarely escapes with his life. The 
dead bull was immediately dragged out of the area by 
three horses on a full gallop, whose traces were fasten¬ 
ed to the horns. In this manner were ten bulls mas¬ 
sacred in about two hours and a half; and the flesh 
was then sold to the populace at the rate of about 
threepence per pound. 

Another amusement, almost peculiar to the people 
of this country, is that of serenading their mistresses, 
either with vocal or instumental music. There is 
hardly a young man who does not spend a good part 
of the night in this amusement, though, perhaps, he is 
almost wholly unacquainted with the lady to whom 
the compliment is paid. 

In every large city in Spain there is a foundling 
hospital, into which all children are readily admitted, 
not only such as are illegitimate, but likewise those 
belonging to the lower class of tradesmen, who have 
larger families than they can support. When the pa¬ 
rents choose to claim their child, they may have it 
again by properly describing it. 


PORTUGAL. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
• CUSTOMS OF THE PORTUGUESE. 

Of the different Classes of the Inhabitants, 

THE inhabitants of Lisbon may be ranked under 
four classes : the nobility, the clergy, those engaged 




Different Classes of the Portuguese. 83 
in trade, and the labouring people. The nobility, 
may be considered as a body entirely distinct from 
the other three; the principal affairs of the state are 
committed to their care, they reside in the capital or 
the environs, and seldom visit their estates in the 
provinces. They esteem it an honour to have been 
born in the capital, and to live there. They are com¬ 
paratively not very rich, for though their patrimonies 
are large, yet their rents are small. In the distribu¬ 
tion of their fortunes, they shew great prudence with 
the appearance of parsimony. They exhibit no great 
partiality to the fine arts, nor take pleasure in the 
cultivation of the sciences. Their lives are an even 
tenor of domestic felicity, not remarkable for bril¬ 
liant actions, and but rarely stained with vice. The 
fame of their illustrious ancestors entitles them to 
respect, but whilst they glory in the remembrance of 
their achievements, they seem to forget their maxims. 

They possess many amiable qualities : they are re¬ 
ligious, temperate and generous; faithful to their 
friends, charitable to the distressed, and attached to 
the sovereign, whose approbation, and a peaceful re¬ 
tirement, constitute the greatest happiness of their 
lives. 

The clergy are respectable, and in general conver¬ 
sant in literature \ and it is said by Mr. Murphy, who 
was acquainted with the Portuguse, that the greater 
the talents of this body of people, the more careful 
are they in secluding themselves from all communi¬ 
cation with the world and he thinks it is owing to 
the general disuse of the Portuguese language, that 
we have not many works from the clergy of that 
country. 

The merchants are remarkably attentive to busi¬ 
ness, just and punctual in their dealings : they live 
on a friendly footing with the foreign traders, es¬ 
pecially with the English. Bankruptcies are seldom 
known among them, and they are careful in avoiding 


34 Dress^ ^c. of the Portuguese, 

all litigations. A Lisbon merchant passes his hours 
in the following manner : he goes to prayers at eight 
o’clock, to the exchange at eleven, dines at one, sleeps 
till three, eats fruit at four, and sups at nine ; the in¬ 
termediate hours are employed in the counting-house, 
in paying visits, or playing at cards. 

To visit any one above the rank of a tradesman, it 
is necessary to wear a sword and ehapeau; if the fami¬ 
ly you visit be in mourning, you must wear black ; 
the servant would not consider the visitant as a gen¬ 
tleman unless he came in a coach; to visit in boots 
would be an unpardonable offence, unless you wear 
spurs at the same time. The master of the house pre¬ 
cedes the visitant on going out, the contrary order 
takes place in coming in. 

The common people of Lisbon and its environs are 
a laborious and hardy race ; many of them, by frugal 
living, lay up a decent competence for old age ; it is 
painful to behold the trouble they are obliged to take 
for the want of proper tools to carry on their work. 
Their cars have the rude appearance of the earliest 
ages, and are slowly drawn by two oxen. The corn 
is shelled by the treading of these animals. The wo¬ 
men, when they ride, sit with the left side towards 
the horse’s head. A postillion rides on the left horse; 
footmen play at cards whilst they are in waiting for 
their masters ; a taylor sits at his work like a shoe¬ 
maker \ a hair-dresser appears on Sunday with a 
sword, a cockade, and two watches, or at least with 
two watch-chains ; a tavern is known by a vinebush ; 
a house to let by a blank piece of paper ,* an ac¬ 
coucheuse door by a white cross; and a Jew is 
known by his extra catholic devotion. 

The lower class of both sexes are very fond of 
gaudy apparel; fish-women are seen with trinkets of 
gold and silver about the neck and wrists. The 
fruit-women are distinguished by a particular dress. 
The custom of wearing boots and black conical caps 


Ser^ants^ ^c, of the Portuguese. 85 

is peculiar to these women. All drudgery is per¬ 
formed by Gallicians, who are literally the hewers of 
wood and drawers of water for the other inhabitants 
of this metropolis ; they are patient, industrious, and 
faithful to a proverb. One of the principal employ¬ 
ments, in which they are daily engaged, is supplying 
the citizens with water, which they carry on their 
shoulders in small wooden barrels from the different 
fountains. 

Every Gallician in this servitude is obliged, by the 
police of the city, to carry one of these vessels filled 
with water to his lodgings in the evening ; and, in 
case of fire to hasten with it, to assist in extinguish¬ 
ing the flames at the first sound of the fire-bell. In 
the houses of the foreign merchants, the Gallicians 
^are the only servants employed, and many of the 
Portuguese prefer them to the natives in that capaci¬ 
ty : they cook the victuals, clean the rooms, and make 
the beds. If there be any female servants in the 
house, under the age of thirty*five, they are invisible, 
except to the mistress of the house and her daugh¬ 
ters ; after this age they are left to their own discre¬ 
tion. The ladies seldom breathe the pure air, except 
in their short excursions to the next chapel, which 
they visit at least once a day. They are modest 
chaste, and extremly affectionate to their kindred.— 
No woman goes out of doors without the permission 
of her husband and parents. To avoid all suspicion, 
men,.even though relations, are not permitted to visit 
their apartments, or to sit beside them in public pla¬ 
ces. Hence lovers are seldom gratified with a sight 
of them, except in the churches ; here they make signs 
and signals. 


Address and compliment by vision. 
Make love, and court by intuition. 


IIUDIBRAS 


( 86 ) 


Of the Method of Courtship ; Marriage Feasts ; Per- 
sons and Fashions of the Portuguse, 

Notwithstanding the watchful eye of the duen¬ 
na, the lovers contrive to exchange billet-doux, and 
that in so subtle a manner, that none can perceive it 
whose breast glows not with a similar flame. The 
little boys who attend the altar are often messengers 
on these occasions. When one of these receives the 
letter, he makes his way through the audience till he 
approaches the fair one, then he throws himself on 
his knees repeating his Ave Marias stella, and beat¬ 
ing his breast; after finishing his ejaculations, and 
crossing his forehead, he falls on his face and hands, 
and fervently kisses the ground ; in the mean time, 
he conveys the letter under the lady’s drapery, and 
brings back another. 

At other times when the lovers are coming out of 
church, their hands meet as it were by chance in the 
holy water font: by this means they exchange billets, 
and enjoy the delectable pleasure of pressing each 
other’s fingers. 

Marriage feasts are attended with vast expence ; 
the resources of the lower class are often exhausted in 
preparations made on these occasions. The nuptial 
bed-chamber is ornamented in the most costly man¬ 
ner, with silks, brocades, and flowers; even the wed¬ 
ding sheets are trimmed with the finest lace. 

In their christenings and funerals also they are very 
extravagant; but, in other respects, frugal and tempe¬ 
rate, particularly the females, who seldom drink any 
thing but water. The abstemiousness of the Portu¬ 
guese ladies is conspicuous in their countenance,which 
IS pale, tranquil, and modest; those who accustom 
themselves to exercise have, nevertheless a beautiful 
carnation. Their eyes arc black and expressive, their 
teeth extremely white and regular. In QDnversation 


General Character of the Portuguese. 87 
they are polite and agreeable, in their manners en¬ 
gaging and unaffected. The form of their dress does 
not undergo a change once in an age ; milliners and 
fancy dress makers are professions as unknown at 
Lisbon as they were in ancient Lacedemon. 

Widows are allowed to marry but they seldom avail 
themselves of the privilege. They never assume the 
family names of their husbands, but in all the vicissi¬ 
tudes of matrimony they retain their own. The men 
are generally addressed by their Christian names. Su¬ 
per names are also common in Portugal, which are 
derived from particular trades, remarkable incidents, 
places of residence, or striking personal blemishes or 
accomplishments. To the Christian names of men 
and women are often superadded those of their pa¬ 
rents, for distinction sake. 

Of the general Character of the Portuguese^ 

With respect to the middling class, they differ in 
their ideas and manners from those of the rest of Eu¬ 
rope ; the unfrequency of travelling, except to their 
own colonies, excludes them from modern notions and 
modern customs ; on which account they retain much 
of the ancient simplicity of their ancestors, and are 
more conversant with the transactions of Asia or 
America than of Europe. They appear to have an 
aversion from travelling, even in their own country. 
A Portuguese can steer a ship to the Brazils with less 
difficulty than he can guide his horse from Lisbon to 
Oporto. 

People thus estranged from neighbouring nations 
are naturally averse from the influx of mere theoreti¬ 
cal doctrines, which tend to disturb the tranquility of 
established opinions. They exclude at once the 
sources of modern luxuries and refinements, modern 
vices and improvements. Hence their wants are few, 
and easily satisfied ; their love of ease exempts them 


88 General Character of the Portuguese. 
from many passions to which other nations are sub¬ 
ject ; gross offences are rarely known among them, 
but when once irritated, they are not easily appeased; 
passions that are seldom roused, act with greater vio¬ 
lence when agitated; under this impression, individ¬ 
uals have sometimes been hurried to violent acts of 
revenge, but the growth of civilization has, in gene¬ 
ral, blunted the point of the dagger. 

The lower class are endowed with many excellent 
qualities; they are religious, honest, and sober ; af¬ 
fectionate to their parents, and respectful to their su¬ 
periors. A Portuguese peasant will not walk with a 
superior, an aged person, or a stranger, without giving 
him the right-hand side, as a mark of respect. He 
never passes by a human being without taking off his 
hat, and saluting him in these words : “ The Lord 
preserve you for many yearsP In speaking of an ab¬ 
sent friend, he says, '‘'‘Idle with impatience to see 
himP Of a morning, when he meets the companions 
of his toil in the field, he salutes them in a complaisant 
manner, and enquires after their little families. His 
day’s work is computed from the rising of the sun to 
its setting, out of which he is allowed half an hour for 
breakfast, and two hours for dinner, in order to re¬ 
fresh himself with a nap during the meridian heat. 
If he labour in the vineyard, he is allowed a good 
portion of wine; when his day’s work is over he 
sings vespers, and on Sunday he attunes his guitar, 
or joins in a fandango dance. His male children are 
educated in the neighbouring convent, whence he 
also receives his sustenance for himself and family, if 
distressed or unable to work. They all imagine this 
country is the blessed elysium; and that Lisbon is 
the greatest city in the world. In their proverbial 
language, they say, “ He who has not seen Lisbon 
has seen nothing.” They have proverbs for almost 
every thing, which being founded on long experience 
are generally true. 


Of the Religion of the Portuguese. 8 » 

Of the countries which do not produce corn, wine 
and oil, they entertain but a mean opinion. They 
picture to themselves the misery of the inhabitants of 
northern climates, who shudder in the midst of snow 
and cold, while they are basking in their green fields. 
These circumstances, and the affectionate attachment 
they have for their king, endear them to their native 
soil. Under every misfortune they are sure to find 
consolation in religion ; and next to this divine fa¬ 
vour, music is the greatest solace of their lives; it 
dissipates the sorrows of the‘poor man, and refines 
the sentiments of the rich ; life glides on amidst such 
endearing scenes. It would be vain to persuade a 
Portuguese that he could enjoy as much happiness in 
any other part of the globe : he conceives it to be im¬ 
possible, and if chance or misfortune should drive 
“him to a foreign land, he pines away, as if he were in 
a state of captivity. 

Of the Religion of the Portuguese. 

The established religion of Portugal is popery, in 
the strictest sense of the word. The Portuguese have 
a patriarch, but formerly he depended on the Pope, 
whose power has of late years been greatly curtailed. 
John the Third introduced the inquisition into this 
country, and inhuman and savage as this tribunal is, 
it has been called the holy ojfce. and its cruel burn¬ 
ings, Auto de fe^ or the act oj faith. The power of 
the inquisition, however, is taken out of the hands of 
ecclesiastics, and converted entirely into a state en¬ 
gine, for the benefit of the crown. 

When a foolish man or woman, or any of their chil¬ 
dren, is sick, the sick person or the parent makes a 
vow, in case of recovery, to return thanks to the Vir¬ 
gin. All their neighbours, who are biggotted enough 
to accompany them, join the procession, and they 
collect the rabble from every village that they pass ; 


90 Tilth of the Potu^uese. 

for the expenses of the whole train are paid by the 
person who makes the vow. There are sometimes 
several hundred men, women and children, on horses, 
mules, and asses, and on foot. When they approach 
a town or village, their arrival is announced by rock¬ 
ets, bag-pipes, and drums, to the sound of which men 
and women half undressed dance on the public road. 

0/ their Filth, 

The filth of the city of Lisbon is astonishing; every 
thing of all kinds is thrown into the street, to the an¬ 
noyance of the passengers. 

A German was invited by an English family here 
to take pot-luck for dinner. He would eat no roast 
beef, no turkey, all dishes passed by him untouched. 
“ I do waitf said he, dat excellent pote loockP 
A person is in great danger of meeting with pot luck, 
if he walk in Lisbon at night. 

In wet weather the streets of Lisbon are very bad ; 
if a person walk near the houses he will be drenched 
by the water spouts ; if he attempt the middle there Is 
a torrent; if between the two there is a dunghill. 

Miscellaneous Customs, 

Almost every man in Spain smokes; the Portu¬ 
guese never smoke. No Spaniard will use a wheel¬ 
barrow, none of the Portuguese will carry a burthen. 
All the porters in Lisbon are Gallegos, an industrious 
and honest race, despised by both nations for the very 
qualities that render them respectable. A gentleman 
wanted his servant to carry a small box to the next 
house ; the man said he was a Portuguese, not a beast, 
and actually walked a mile for a Gallego to carry the 
box. 

There are no public lamps lighted in Lisbon, except 
before the image of a saint. An English resident 


Miscelluneous Customs of the Partuguese, 91 
found the lamp at his door frequently broken; he 
placed a saint behind it, and it ever after was safe un¬ 
der his protection. It is pleasant to meet with one 
of these enlightened personages, for they are indeed 
lights shining in darkness. 

Easter Sunday is the accession of the Emperor of 
the Holy Ghost, who is a little boy; his reign lasts 
only till Whitsuntide, but his privileges are for life : 
he may commit with impunity any crime but high 
treason. On most eminences his standard is erected, 
a high pole with a flag bearing a dove; his retinue 
parade the streets with similar flags, proffering them 
to all good catholics to kiss, and receive money in re¬ 
turn, which is expended on Whitsunday, at which the 
emperor presides in person. 

^ A pair of globes was shewn to a Portuguese friar, 
‘‘Ah !” said he, “ I know what this is very well; it is 
a camera obscura, and a very dangerous thing it is; 
a friend of mine was very nearly killed in making 
some experiments with one.” So ingeniously did he 
confound the globes, the camera obscura, and the 
electrical machine. 

These friars, however ignorant themselves, avail 
themselves of the still greater ignorance of the people 
to impose a thousand impositions on them. The or¬ 
der of Divine Providence^ are so called, because they 
have no revenues, and never go out to beg, but re¬ 
main in their convent to receive such donations as 
may be voluntarily proffered, trusting thus to the Di¬ 
vine Providence for their support. If they are in 
danger of starving, they toll the bell for assistance, 
and supplies pour in. 

The mode of execution in Portugal is horrible. A 
pillar is erected, to which the criminal is fastened, a 
surgeon draws a chalk line across his throat, and the 
executioner follows it with a sharp knife : but this 
mode of decapitation is the privilege of the Fidalgos 
only, the plebians are hung. A singular point of law 


92 Personsj Dress^ £s?c. of the French, 

etiquette occurred at the execution of a man, who 
suffered a few years since at Lisbon. The criminal 
claimed the honour of being beheaded as a Fidalgo : 
but as only one of his parents enjoyed that title, the 
Fidalgos objected to it, and insisted that he should be 
hung; the matter was compromised, and his head 
was only half cut off, to satisfy both parties. 


FRANCE. 

description of the character, manners, and 

CUSTOMS, OF THE FRENCH. 

Of the Persons^ Dress, 

THE French are slender, active, well proportion¬ 
ed, and rather shorter than their neighbours ; less 
subject to deformities than the people of most nations. 
Their eyes and hair are black, and their complexions 
brown. A French writer «ays, the ladies in France 
are as celebrated for their beauty as they are for vi¬ 
vacity, and those graces and charms which adorn 
the sex. The peasantry, both male and female, arc 
generally very ordinary, and are said by English tra¬ 
vellers, to form a remarkable and striking contrast to 
those of the same rank in this country. 

Paris has always been the abode of fashion ; this is 
said to be the only tyranny, to which the French at 
present submit without a murmur. Nothing appears 
to them more odious than uniformity, on which ac¬ 
count the changes among them are so frequent, that it 
is impossible to describe any particular dress as that 
which is adopted as a standard. This versatility of 
taste will remind the reader of an amusing anecdote. 
A foreign prince employed a painter to represent 




Persons^ Dress^ £sPc. of the French, 93 
faithfully on canvass, all the different dresses of the 
various European nations. When the artist came to 
France, he felt himself embarrassed, not knowing w hat 
he should do, or how he should represent the perpet¬ 
ually varying fashions. After much consideration, 
he painted a naked Frenchman, carrying under his 
arm a piece of cloth. The prince, astonished at the 
painter, asked, why of all the people in Europe he 
had given the French no dress. “ Sir, replied the 
ingenious artist, he will make one for himself, ac¬ 
cording to his fancy, w'l^l the cloth that he is carry- 
ing.” 

Notwithstanding the fickleness of fashion at Paris, 
and other large cities of the republic, the great mass 
of the people, in distant provinces, always faithful to 
ancient manners, smile under an enormously large 
hat at the new modes, which rise and fall almost every 
day among their more polished fellow-citizens. 

No one, from the general manners of the Parisian 
people, will suspect them of having committed, or 
even suffered the commission, of those horrible enor¬ 
mities, which have stained with so indelible a die the 
history of their revolution. Brutal battles, quarrels, 
and noisy drunken fellows, are disturbances seldom 
to be met with at Paris. The lower class of people 
behave to each other with a surprising degree of ci¬ 
vility. The unhappy females, who roam the streets 
at night, are neither obtrusive, rude, nor riotous. At 
the theatres the tranquility of the audience is seldom 
interrupted : people go for the wise purpose of being 
pleased, and with the good humoured disposition to 
be satisfied. These places of amusement are, doubt¬ 
less, much indebted for their tranquility to the nation¬ 
al sobriety of the French. 

Politeness and good manners may be traced, though 
in different proportions, through every rank. This, 
however, does not form a more remarkable and dis¬ 
tinguishing feature in the French national character, 
VOL. II. K 


94 Amusements of the French* 

than the vivacity, impetuosity, and fickleness, for 
which the ancient as well as the modern inhabitants of 
Paris have been noted. But, in spite of temporary 
confusion, the national characteristic of vivacity and 
ingenuity remains the same. Public amusements 
abound, particularly balls and masquerades. Dancing 
continues the rage; and from its great prevalence, 
private persons are met with in every society, whose 
talents equal the professors of the art. On the nation¬ 
al festivals, the Champs Elysees and tea-gardens are 
filled with dancing groupes, some of which would not 
disgrace the opera. Diversions and public relaxa¬ 
tions are at present permitted in their full extent; 
and the Parisian, who for so many years past was de¬ 
prived of a masquerade, enjoyed it during the last 
carnival with additional satisfaction. On the last 
Sunday of the Carnival, a day which has been always 
a holiday with three-fourths of the people, every car¬ 
riage on the the Boulevards was filled with Turks, 
Tartras, and Chinese, all superbly and characteristic¬ 
ally dressed. 

The theatres are a favourite amusement; no less 
than fifteen are open and filled every night. On Sun¬ 
days, the gens comme il faut (fashionable people) va¬ 
cate their seats, which are occupied by holiday folks 
of every description. A Parisian never exhausts his' 
stock of good spirits; a spectacle is meat and drink 
to him. 

The French opera is worthy of being the pride of 
the nation. The splendid decorations, the dancing, 
which appears to exceed human powers, the spacious 
stage, the rapidity and exactitude of the scene shift¬ 
ing, are no where to be equalled. Picturesque in the 
highest degree are the attitudes of the actors and 
actresses, and they make their entrances with a cer¬ 
tain hilarity in their looks, arising from the con¬ 
sciousness that they are before a good humoured 
public. 


Manners and Customs of the Parisians, 95 
To a person who compares Paris as it now is with 
what it was during the early period of the war, noth¬ 
ing can present a more abrupt contrast. There is a 
marked difference between the Parisians of 17'9«3, 
and the inhabitant of the metropolis in 1802. In 
dress, in manners, and in opinion, the transmutation 
seems to be complete. In the infancy of the repub¬ 
lic, the Parisian took all his models from Rome and 
Sparta; these are become antiquated, and what is 
left of them appears only in the style of the furniture, 
and in the dress of the female part of his family.— 
The new-fangled republican modes and terms are 
fallen into disuse ; the streets, which have undergone 
a kind of revolutionary baptism, are now known only 
by their former titles ; the term citoyen is become a 
mere mot de bureau^ (word of office) ; and, if address¬ 
ed to any person in private society, would be almost 
an insult. Pomp and royal splendour are now the or¬ 
der of the day. No one of the family of the consuls 
now appears in public, without three footmen behind 
their carriage, who, with the coachmen and out-ri¬ 
ders, are all habited in dark green liveries, richly 
embroidered with gold. The Parisian stared, in the 
first instance, at this innovation on republican sim¬ 
plicity : but it is now seen without emotion, and even 
regarded as a matter, comme il faut. 

Among the changes of customs to be noticed at 
Paris is that of the hour of dinner, which, ten years 
since, was invariably three o’clock, it is now six, and 
in very fashionable houses seven, before it is an¬ 
nounced. The English mode of sitting after dinner, 
however, has not gained ground : the French seance 
is seldom more than two hours. 

In sketching the manners of Parisian society we 
cannot omit that sex which enjoys ithe preponderat¬ 
ing sway. It was the Parisian women, who at the 
fatal epoch of the revolution, and in those days of 
horror, proved that sensibility has its heroism j and 


96 Parisian Women* 

that the affections of the heart can embrace the nerves 
with an energy that mocks the calculations of dan¬ 
ger.—The Parisian women penetrated into the depths 
of dungeons, flew to the abodes of despair, and were 
the ministering angels that whispered hope and com¬ 
fort to the prisoner. They have shown that they 
knew how to sympathise in the sorrows of others, 
and, also, how to suffer and die. The daughter or 
the wife, led in the bloom of beauty to the scaffold, 
with her parent or husband, seemed to forget that she 
had the sacrifice of her life to make, and was only oc¬ 
cupied in sustaining his sinking spirit. It must be 
confessed, that the Parisian women, in those calami¬ 
tous limes, proved themselves to be endowed with en¬ 
ergetic and feeling souls. The characteristic feature 
of their beauty is expression. Besides the ease of 
manners, a French woman has commonly a look of 
cheerfulness and great vivacity. She appears willing 
to be acquainted with you, and seems to expect that 
you should address her. 

For gaiety, accomplishments, grace, and modesty, 
the Parisian fair are inferior to none. Their dress 
may by some be considered as an exception to this 
remark ; but it is not, as has been falsely reported, in 
a state approaching to nudity. The origin of the 
present dress is Grecian ; and it is impossible to con¬ 
ceive any thing better calculated to display what 
Sterne calls, the first order of fine forms.” 

Amidst the struggle of the Parisians for their po¬ 
litical existence, they have not neglected the fine arts ; 
they have carefully formed vast repositories and mofi- 
uments of the arts. Wherever their armies have been 
victorious, they have never waged war with science. 
Their object uniformly has been, in the classic coun¬ 
tries where their banners have been unfurled, to col¬ 
lect and to preserve the monuments of genius, and to 
transport them to their own country. The return of 
peace will give to this ingenious people the opportu- 


Marriages of the French* 97 

nity of making Paris the emporium of all the arts, 
useful and ornamental to man. 

Marriages, though regarded in France as mere civil 
contracts, may be performed in churches, provided 
the parties first appear before the municipality, and 
bind themselves by the civil act. The ceremony is 
thus described by an eye witness : “After waiting 
some time, the bride and bridegroom made their ap¬ 
pearance, neatly dressed, followed by their friends, 
and preceeded by one of the chief municipal officers, 
having a three coloured ribbon thrown across his 
shoulders like a scarf, and who, taking his seat in 
the centre of a long table, the bride and bridegroom 
being opposite to him, began by reading the law con¬ 
cerning marriages, according to the new principles; 
after which he continued admonishing the pair re^ 
specting good behaviour and an attention to the laws 
of the republic. He then gave them the records, to 
sign their names, and each a copy of the marriage 
act, which terminates the ceremony, unless the par¬ 
ties are desirous of proceeding to church, which is 
entirely optional. There are no stated hours for per¬ 
forming the ceremony at the municipality; people of 
consequence generally choose the evening.” 

The decades (every tenth day) are only days ac¬ 
knowledged by the state for the observance of reli¬ 
gious worship. The observation of these is only 
binding upon the constituted authorities, and officers 
appointed by government. The people in general 
follow their own pleasure, either in pursuing or re¬ 
fraining from their usual occupations, as suits their 
convenience or inclination. Sunday is still the day 
of rest and devotion to multitudes, both catholic and 
protestants; but these make no scruple of enjoying 
the amusements of the theatre after the conclusion 
of their devotions. 

Almost all religions have paid some respect to the 
deceased. Among the French this has wholly disap- 
K 2 


98 Mode of Instruction in France, 
peared. When a person has departed life, it is an¬ 
nounced to the municipality, who at the end of 
twenty-four hours, send a public officer and four por¬ 
ters to take away the body. They carry it silently 
to the cemetry; and when they are arrived at the 
edge of the grave, the officer proclaims aloud to the 
grave-digger, “ In the name of the lawy I command 
you to bury this dead bodyF The catholics have, 
however, the liberty of performing any sort of reli¬ 
gious rites over the bodies of their deceased friends. 

Of the mode of Instruction in France, 

Whatever may be the manners and customs which 
are most predominant in France at present, those 
which will hereafter characterise the French nation 
must depend very much on the education of the 
young. It may not, therefore, be improper to sketch 
out the course of public instruction pursued at pre¬ 
sent in the French republic. 

In the primary schools, of which there are many in 
every part of the country, reading, writing, and com¬ 
mon arithmetic, are taught. From these young per¬ 
sons are transplanted to the central schools, one of 
which at least is supported in every department. At 
these the course of instruction is divided into three 
parts ; the first includes drawing, natural histoiy, 
and ancient and modern languages ; in the second are 
taught mathematics, physics, and chemistry ; univer¬ 
sal grammar, the fine arts, history, and legislation, 
are subjects for the third department of the central 
schools. The pupils are received into the first at the 
age of twelve, into the second at fourteen, and into 
the third at sixteen. Each central school is provided 
with a public library, a botanical garden, and a chem¬ 
ical and philosophical apparatus. 

Besides these schools, which are common to every 
department of the republic, there is at Paris one of 


Mode of Instruction in France, 99 

a higher order, denominated the Polytechnic School, 
to which those pupils are translated from the cen¬ 
tral schools, who, by a public examination in pure 
mathematics, are found to have improved their time 
and talents. The number of pupils is settled at J 60 , 
who are divided into brigades, twenty to each hall, 
under the inspection of the teachers and visitor, 
whom they alternately choose among themselves. 

The common course in these schools requires three 
years, and the school is divided into three correspon¬ 
ding classes. 

In the first, the higher branches of algebra and 
geometry are taught, together with perspective, phys¬ 
ics, and chemistry. In the second, instructions rela¬ 
ting to practical mechanics are given, such as the arts 
for laying out roads, erecting bridges, building in all 
its various departments, and whatever relates to house¬ 
hold furniture. The course of instruction appropri¬ 
ated to the third class relates to fortification, the con¬ 
struction of engines of all kinds, the chemistry of 
minerals, and the sublime parts of mathematics. 

When a young man has punctually and diligently 
attended the Polytechnic School, and undergone an 
examination, he is admitted into some one of the 
schools for public service,” or, as they are some¬ 
times called, schools of application. The pupils, 
soon after their appointment, obtain a small salary, 
and afterwards pass from thence to the service of the 
state when an opportunity occurs. These schools 
are for the construction of roads and bridges, for 
mineralogy, geography, ship-building, artillery, for¬ 
tification, and nautical affairs. 

Besides the above-mentioned establishments, we 
must not omit, (l) the medical school, containing a 
vast number of excellent anatomical preparations, and 
imitations in wax: a valuable collection of surgical 
instruments ; a philosophical apparatus and chemical 
laboratory; a large library; a magnificent lecture- 


IbO Persons and Character of the Swiss, 
room and reading apartments. The number of stu¬ 
dents at this school amount to about 1200. (2) The 

free school for painting, which was originally a pri¬ 
vate foundation for instructing 1500 children, intend¬ 
ed for artists or professors, but it is now rendered 
general. In every decade three days are devoted to 
arithmetic, practical geometry, statuary, perspective, 
and architecture ; on three others, the students paint 
men and animals ; and on the other three, they draw 
flowers and other ornaments ; the tenth is by law a 
holiday. (3) The French college, which is the only 
institution that has not undergone some change du¬ 
ring the revolution. The lecturers in this place are, 
in respect to learning and talents, the principal people 
in France. 


SWITZERLAND. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS, OF THE INHABITANTS OF SWITZERLAND. 

Of their Persons and general Character, 

THE Swiss are generally tall, well proportion¬ 
ed, active, and laborious; distinguished for their 
honesty, steadiness and bravery ; and, above all, for 
their zealous attachment to the liberties of their 
country. From the earliest periods of history we 
find them inured to arms and agriculture. A gene¬ 
ral simplicity of manners, an open and unaffected 
frankness, and an invincible spirit of freedom may 
be considered as the distinguishing characteristic of 
the Swiss Cantons. Though not celebrated for great 
learning, yet they may be regarded as a very enlight¬ 
ened nation; the common people are more intelli- 




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A Christening among the Swiss Peasantry. 





















































































































































































































































































































Persons and Character of the Swiss, 101 
gent than those of most countries ; a certain taste 
for literature pervades all ranks. It is not possible 
at present to ascertain the exact effect which the late 
revolution will have on the minds of the Swiss ; but 
previously to that event, a traveller, on his first en¬ 
trance into Switzerland, could not fail of being struck 
with the air of contentment, which was obseryable in 
every countenance, nor avoid being pleased with the 
personal and domestic cleanliness universally preva¬ 
lent throughout the country. In their manners, be¬ 
haviour, and dress, strong outlines might be traced, 
which distinguished this happy people from the in¬ 
habitants of neighbouring countries, who laboured 
under the oppressions of despotism and tyranny,— 
“ I feel,” says Mr. Coxe, ‘‘ great delight in breath¬ 
ing the air of liberty j every person here has appa¬ 
rently the mein of content and satisfaction. The 
cleanliness of the houses, and of the people, is pe¬ 
culiarly striking; and I can trace in all their man¬ 
ners, behaviour, and dress, some strong outlines 
which distinguish this happy people from neighbour¬ 
ing nations.” Among the chief part of the inhabit¬ 
ants, the original simplicity of the pastoral life is 
still preserved; and venerable figures with long 
beards, that resemble the pictures of the ancient pa¬ 
triarchs, may be often seen. The natives, in com¬ 
mon with the inhabitants of democracies, posses a 
natural frankness and peculiar tone of equality, which 
arise from a consciousness of their own independ¬ 
ence. They also displav a fund of original humour, 
and are remarkable for their great quickness of re¬ 
partee, and rude sallies of wit, which render their con¬ 
versation extremely agreeable and interesting. 

0/ the Houses^ Climate^ £s?c. of the Swiss, 

For persons who have never seen these states, it 
is difficult to form any accurate idea of the general 


102 Houses^ Climate^ £s?c. of the Swiss. 
equality and indistinction that prevails among the in¬ 
habitants. The houses are built of wood, large, so¬ 
lid, and compact, with great pent-house roofs that 
hang very low, and extend beyond the area of the 
foundation. This peculiar structure is to keep off 
the snow; and from its singularity, accords with the 
beautiful wildness of the country. The houses of 
the richer inhabitants in the principal burghs are of 
the same materials; the only difference consists in 
their being larger. 

The houses of Basle are adorned on the outside 
with figures, of the sun, a bear, a hog, &c. which are 
generally accompanied with mottos ; the following is 
an instance : 


En Dieu je met tout mon espoir^ 

Mt je demcure au cochon noir. 

All my hope is in God: and my house is known 
by the sign of the black pig. 


Switzerland being a mountainous country, the frosts 
are long and severe in winter; and the hills are some¬ 
times covered with snow all the year long. In sum¬ 
mer the inequality of the soil renders the .same pro¬ 
vince very unequal in its seasons : on one side of 
these mountains the inhabitants are often reaping, 
while they are sowing on the other. The vallies, are, 
however, warm, fruitful and well cultivated; ’ and 
nothing can be more delightful than the summer 
months in this charming country. It is subject to 
rains and tempests, on which account public granaries 
are every where erected, to supply the failure of 
their crops. The feet of the mountains, and some¬ 
times the very summits, are covered with vineyards, 
corn fields, meadows and pasture grounds. In some 
parts there is a regular gradation from extreme wild- 


Government of the Swiss. 103 

ness to high cultivation; in others, the transitions 
are very abrupt and very striking. 

Such is the variation in the temperature of the air, 
that the rose and campanula are often observed to 
rear their heads amidst the ice, while the native plant 
of Greenland and Lapland are not far distant from 
those of Italy and Spain. According to some wri¬ 
ters, the cold regions of the Alps are said to produce 
the tallest and most vigorous trees, and they are cov¬ 
ered with the largest cattle ; while the men born there 
are towering in point of stature, and possess the most 
vigorous bodies. The pine tree is represented as at¬ 
taining the height of one hundred and fifty feet : it is 
no uncommon thing to find four hundred and sixty 
pips -in each separate grape, which is sometimes as 
large as a pigeon’s egg. The fertility of the Grison 
country is such, that a field, ploughed by a single ox, 
produces first a crop of corn, then another of Indian 
wheat, afterwards of radishes, and lastly, of fruits 
and vintage. 


Of the Government. 

In most parts of Switzerland sumptuary laws are 
in force, as well to preserve the greatest plainness and 
simplicity of manners, as to banish every thing that 
has the appearance of superfluity and excess. No 
dancing is allowed, except on particular occasions: 
silk, lace, and several other articles of luxury, are to¬ 
tally prohibited in some of the caijtons; and even the 
head-dresses of the ladies are subject to regulations. 
The citizens at the head of their government, in all 
public assemblies, appear in black cloaks and bands ; 
while the peasants are usually clothed in a coarse 
cloth manufactured in their own country: their holi¬ 
day dresses, which descend from father to son, being 
seldom worn out before the second or third genera¬ 
tion. The apparel of the women is extremely plain, 



104 Mode of Punishment among the Swiss. 
the head-dresses of those of the first quality gen¬ 
erally consisting only of furs, the produce of the 
country. 

The police is well regulated throughout Switzer¬ 
land ; liberty rarely degenerates into licentiousness, 
except, perhaps, in the day of their general assem¬ 
blies, when it is impossible to prevent some degree 
of confusion in a meeting where there is scarcely any 
distinction of persons, and where every peasant con¬ 
siders himself as equal to the first magistrate. 

The punishment of death is almost fallen into dis¬ 
use ; the people talk of an execution ten years after 
it has taken place. In Switzerland they are eco¬ 
nomical of human blood. The magistrates appear to 
be actuated by the maxim which inculcates, “that 
society ought not to cut off one of its members for a 
slight offence.” 

Instead of being subjected to capital punishments, 
felons are imprisoned in the house of correction. In 
these houses the regulations are so excellent and so 
mild—criminals are so well fed, and so well attended, 
that if it were not for the iron ring about the leg, the 
hook at the neck, and the chain by which they are 
linked together, many worthy people who are in pov¬ 
erty would be very happy in their situation. 

If the atrocity of the crime should oblige the judges 
to pronounce sentence of death, the cord is the only 
instrument of punishment. “ So humane are they,” 
says the Marquis de Langle, “ that the culprit is first 
made drunk, then is hanged, as it were, without per¬ 
ceiving it; he has no moie idea of the death he is to 
suffer, than an oak about to be cut down has of its 
destruction.” 

Such is the simplicity that still prevails in some of 
the remote parts of Switzerland, that neither attorney 
nor notary is to be found there; that contracts are 
inscribed on pieces of w ood, instead of parchment; 
and that there are neither locks, nor thieves, nor pil- 


Religion of the Swiss, 105 

ferers. The valley of Praborgne, in the dixain of 
Visp is cited as one of those. 

On each side of the road that runs through the 
valley of Muotta, in the canton of Schweitz, are se- 
veral ranges of shops uninhabited, yet filled with va¬ 
rious goods, of which the prices are marked : any 
passengers who wish to become purchasers enter the 
shops, take away the merchandize, and deposit the 
price, which the owners call for in the evening. 

Of the Religion^ Curiosites^ Manufactures^ CsPc. of 
the Swiss, 

Though the Swiss cantons form but one political 
confederacy, they are not all united in religious sen¬ 
timents ; the tw© prevailing persuasions are Cal¬ 
vinism and Popery: the former is professed in 
four cantons, the latter in seven; and in two can¬ 
tons among the Orisons, both religions are on the 
same footing: but every separate town, place, or 
state, has its particular constitution, for the manage¬ 
ment of its churches, schools, and other ecclesiastical 
aflfairs. The Protestant cantons are better inhabited 
and more opulent than the Popish. 

These differences in religious opinions formerly ori¬ 
ginated in public commotions, which appear now to 
have subsided : but the effects of them are still felt. 
The old style is in use among the protestants, the 
new among the catholics. Zuinglius was the apostle 
of protestantism in Switzerland: he differed from Lu¬ 
ther and Calvin only on a lew speculative points ; so 
that Calvinism may be called the religion of the pro* 
testant Swiss. In this country the same sentiments 
do not prevail on the subjects of civil liberty, and of 
religious toleration ; with respect to the former, they 
are extremely liberal, but in the latter bigotted to ex¬ 
cess. We must, however, observe, that on the plain 
Palais, without the city of Geneva, is the general 

VOL. II. L 


106 Curiosities^ £sfc. of the Swiss, 

place of sepulture, where the body of Calvin is inter¬ 
red ; but the inhabitants, to evince their aversion 
from sectarism, will not point out the particular spot 
iri which it was deposited; and it is said that a 
Lutheran ecclesiastic was buried by the side of Cal¬ 
vin. 

The church of St. John, at Shaffhausen, is reputed 
the largest in Switzerland; and that of All Souls is 
celebrated for its elegance and beauty, and particularly 
for its large bell, which is thirty feet in circumference, 
and upon it is embossed the following inscription : 
Vivos voco, mortuos plangOy fulgura frango ; that is, 

I summon the living, I bewail the dead, and dis¬ 
perse the lightnings,” alluding to an ancient super¬ 
stition, whiah inculcated a belief that bells were able 
to disperse tempests, and avert all those aerial com¬ 
motions supposed to be raised by the intervention of 
infernal spirits. In some parts of this state no mar¬ 
riage can be solemnized between persons of different 
religious principles; and both men and women are 
bound to pay some respect to the parity of years. A 
woman is enjoined to remain six months in a state of 
widowhood before she can alter her condition: and 
a man, though not expressly limited, is advised to 
wait a reasonable time, to obviate scandal, and to 
shew that he has “ felt the hand of God.” 

Near Freyburgh is an hermitage esteemed a very 
' singular curiosity : it is situated among woods and 
rocks, which lead the mind to serious contemplation. 
In this romantic retreat a hermit is said to have lived 
twenty-five years; who, with his own hands, had 
formed in the rock a very neat chapel, chamber, par¬ 
lour, refectory, kitchen, cella, and other offices; and, 
notwithstanding, the rooms lie deep, a chimney is 
carried up through the rock to the height of ninety 
feet. He likewise levelled one side of the rock, and, 
by laying waste earth upon it, converted it into a gar¬ 
den, which was so delightfully situated, that it ap- 


Curiosities^ £s?c. of the Swiss. 107 

pcared a luxury in a hermit to enjoy it. He next 
formed two or three fountains in the bowels of the 
mountain, by tracing the veins, whence he observed 
some drops of water distilling, and thus obtained 
water for domestic uses as well as for his garden.—^ 
The parlour is the most amazing performance, being 
28 yards long, 12 wide, and 17 high, with four 
apertures representing windows ; at one end of which 
stood the cabinet and little library of this extraordi¬ 
nary man, whose name was John de Pre, who began 
this Herculaneum labour at thirty years of age, and 
with the assistance of a single servant completed it in 
25 years. 

The river Sane flows by the foot of the rock, and 
round this delightful retreat is an easy descent cov¬ 
ered by a part of a forest, in which are shady woods 
and pleasing avenues. The man of feeling, who vis¬ 
its this stupendous performance, is by turns agitated 
with pity and admiration; while he views the con¬ 
trivance and industry perceptible in every part of the 
design, he is lost in astonishment; and when he re¬ 
flects on the fate of the wonderful man, who was 
drowned in the river Sane, as he was carrying back 
some young people who came to visit him on the 
consecration of his chapel, in 1708, he can scarcely 
restrain the tear of humanity, nor withhold the sigh 
of benevolence. 

In the centre of the city of Berne is a large seat^ 
composed of stone, and surrounded with iron rails, 
on which the acting judge, and two members in 
council next in authority, always sit, when sentence 
of death is pronounced on any criminal. But the 
most remarkable circumstance attending this city is, 
that it contains a particular street, in which the in¬ 
habitants enjoy the privilege of acquitting or con¬ 
demning any one of their own body in affairs of life 
and death ; and as every individual who resides in it 
possesses the right of voting on these occasions, 


i 08 Amusements of the Swiss. 

houses on that account are considered more valuable 

than in the other quarters of the town. 

It has been proposed to institue a harvest-home, to 
be celebrated in every village, after having housed 
the corn, when rewards should be distributed to those 
husbandmen who had most^distinguished themselves. 
Such an appointment would probably be very useful, 
and certainly does honour to those who promote it. 

Without any formal institution, there are many vil¬ 
lages which keep holidays of this kind. At Ormont, 
as soon as the return of the fair weather permits the 
shepherds to reascend, with their flocks and herds, 
those mountains which supply their summer feed, 
they proceed to the election of a king. Neither in¬ 
trigues, factions, nor wealth, determine their suffrages. 
They calculate only the services done to their com¬ 
munity. If any one of them by his intrepidity or skill 
has delivered them from the ravages of a bear, or 
has slain a voracious wolf, or has enabled them to 
get rid of some other nuisance, he is forced on a 
throne, which neither ceremony nor care surrounds. 
On these occasions, when appeal is made to his au¬ 
thority, a silent solemn ring is formed about him, 
under the oldest tree of the mountain ; his audience- 
hall is the circle of shade. Instead of a sceptre, he 
grasps a knotty staff; and perhaps some trophy of 
his prowess, as the skin of a wild beast, is the orna¬ 
ment of his person. If any shepherd has been con¬ 
victed of profane swearing, or quarrelsome provoca¬ 
tion, or has been guilty of any acts of intemperance, 
or of cruelty towards the cattle intrusted to his care, 
he is made to stand up in this circle: the accusation 
and defence are heard : the king dooms him to some 
adequate punishment; and the sentence is religiously 
executed. This despotic authority over the shep¬ 
herds is exercised with great wisdom and equity. 

Every four years, at Vcyay, a festival is celebra¬ 
ted, under the name of Abbaye de VigneronSf although 


Amusements of the Swiss, 109 

it is not consecrated to Bacchus only. Ceres, repre¬ 
sented by a woman holding in one hand a sheaf, in 
the other a sickle, appears on a waggon over-arched 
with hoops, adorned with poppies and ears of corn. 
Among the characters of the procession are fauns 
armed with halbreds twisted with ivy, young women 
as bacchanals playing on the tabor, or dancing, and 
at the head of all is the jolly god of wine. He is 
represented as a plump young man astride on a hogs¬ 
head which two men carry. Satyrs in nankeen lead 
along the victim with gilt horns and dressed with 
flowers. A priestess has been introduced, before 
whom is carried a censer and a tripod. The trough 
in which the grapes are bruised is not forgotten; 
nor old Silenus crowned with clusters, a pitcher of 
wine under his arm, tottering on his ass. 

The two vine-dressers, to whom the wreath has 
been adjudged for superior skill, precede the abbe, 
their parish priest and theatrical director. Then 
follow other vine-dressers in green and white, with 
straw hats, singing hymns for the occasion in honour 
of Bacchus and Ceres. 

The priestess and bacchanals join with the fauns 
and satyrs in executing the wild rotatory dances of 
the country in different parts of the town, where 
largesses are collected. The procession is closed by 
harvest-men, some with blue and white, others with 
pink and white ribands, displaying the several imple¬ 
ments of their employments. The next day, on the 
borders of the lake Leman, about one hundred and 
fifty persons dine together at a long table in the pub¬ 
lic walk, on a plentiful collection of joints of meat and 
various vegetables. 

In another part of Switzerland, two neighbouring 
parishes challenge each other ; and at the conclusion 
of the carnival, each dispatches a man, bedizened with 
flowers and shells, called the Shrove-monday-ambas^ 
sador^ who rides to the neighbouring village, and 

L 2 


110 Amusements of the Swiss, 

reads or father sings two satirical compositions in 
verse: the one, a general satire against the parish, 
usually begins by celebrating a period of Swiss his¬ 
tory accommodated to the circumstances of the time 
and place: he then draws a comparison between the 
two parishes, giving the preference to his own for the 
superior learning and piety of the priest, the wisdom 
and impartially of the president, the industry and 
spirit of the men, the beauty and chastity of the 
women, and the education of the children. The 
second composition consists of a string of epigrams 
in ridicule of particular persons; in this any scan¬ 
dalous adventures, or ludicrous circumstances which 
have happened since the last year, are recorded with 
much exaggeration. The poet finishes this harangue 
with expressing a wish that on the next Shrove-mon- 
day the inhabitants may improve, and not deserve 
such a reprimand. 

On the conclusion of this lecture the mock ambas¬ 
sador returns, and the men of the two parishes repair, 
with drums, beating and colours flying, to an open 
place called the Field oj Battle,^ followed and encour¬ 
aged by the inhabitants of the respective parishes.— 
When the two armies are drawn up in order of bat¬ 
tle, the combatants, in imitation of the Swiss custom, 
fall down upon their knees, offer up a short prayer, 
and start up at the sound of the trumpet. 

Having formed themselves in ranks, they march in 
military attitude: the foremost lines meet in front 
and jostle against each other, being supported and 
pushed forwards by the hinder files, frequently as¬ 
sisted by the women, until the phalanx is broken.— 
The victorious party is dignified with the name of 
the Swiss, and those who give way are called Austri¬ 
ans, in allusion to the ancient animosity between 
those two powers. The jurymen of the district are 
present as umpires, and to prevent any violent dis¬ 
putes or quarrels. After the rencounter, both parties 


A Milkmaid of Ober Hasli. A young Woman in her Sunday Clothes. A young Man of Ober Hasli. 








































































































Swiss Dress and Manners. Ill 

sit down to table, and the day is concluded with 
feasting. 

Mr. Coxe gives an account of his pilgrimage to 
Ginsidlen, a rich abbey of the Benedictines, which 
owes its celebrity to a miraculous image of the Vir¬ 
gin Mary. 

“ As I walked,*’ says he, “ to this celebrated con¬ 
vent, I found the whole way furnished with stalls, 
provided with cakes, whey, and other refreshments, 
for the numerous pilgrims on the road. I saw seve¬ 
ral hundreds in groups in different numbers. Some 
consisted of a whole parish, attended by their spirit¬ 
ual pastor. More than once I observed some griev¬ 
ous sinner driven from the flock, and walking at a 
distance, counting his beads, barefooted and bare¬ 
headed, doing full penance for his crimes. I saw 
also several bevies of merry damsels, who seemed to 
enjoy the pilgrimage as much as Welsh lasses relish 
a wake. They often turned into the little chapels 
which lay open on the way, and wantonly sprinkled 
each other with holy water. 

Of Swiss Dresses and Manners. 

No Dress can better become a tall and well-shaped 
woman than that of the upland vale of Hash. The 
hair is simply and loosely plaited, and wound round 
a small black cushion on the crown of the head : the 
neck is covered with a fluttering kerchief striped with 
various colours ; the blue apron is half tucked up, 
and stuck into the high girdle ; the gown flows in 
beautiful folds after the Grecian fashion, betraying at 
every motion the fine shape of the youthful limbs.— 
The milk maid of Ober-Hasli carries a vessel of milk 
on her back, and a smaller one with cream in her hand. 

The young herdsman of the Alps (fig 1.) is sup¬ 
posed descending from the mountains on a Sunday 
morning, carrying some delicate and rich cream for 


112 Swiss Dress and Manners. 

his wife’s breakfast, with whom he dedicates this day 
to domestic happiness, beiog absent from home du¬ 
ring the other six days of the week. 

The young maidens of Interlachan (fig. 3.) is in 
her holiday dress ; those in more opulent circumstan¬ 
ces generally have the whole made of velvet and silk 
stuffs. It is‘ difficult to form an adequate idea of the 
neatness and simplicity which reign in many parts of 
Switzerland. Mr. Coxe speaks of a clergyman’s 
family which he and his friends visited ; the daugh¬ 
ters, about fifteen or sixteen years of age, politely 
brought milk and cherries for their refreshment; they 
were neatly dressed, like peasant girls, in straw hats 
their shift-sleeves tied, according to the custom of 
the country, above their elbows. 

The manners of the inhabitants are in general sim¬ 
ple, and may, perhaps, in these times be esteemed an¬ 
tiquated. Dinner is usually served at twelve ; in the 
afternoon the gentlemen assemble in clubs or small 
societies in the town during the winter, and at their 
respective villas in summer. They frequently smoke 
and partake of wine, fruit, cakes, and other refresh¬ 
ments. The women, for the most part employed in 
their domestic occupations, or devoted to the im¬ 
provement of their children, are not fond of visiting. 
When they go out, they generally assemble in sepa¬ 
rate coteries, to which only a few men, and those 
chiefly the nearest relations, are admitted : many of 
the ladies, indeed, from a consciousness of their pro¬ 
vincial accent, and a difficulty of expressing them¬ 
selves in French, seldom make their appearance when 
strangers are received. "‘.It has,” says Mr. Coxe, 
“ more than once happened to me, that on being 
shewn into the apartment where the ladies were as¬ 
sembled, the master of the house has taken me by 
the hand, and led me into another room, where he 
would have detained me, if I had not requested to 
be re-conducted to the ladies.” 


Of Sxviss Clocks. 

This reserve, however, with regard to the female 
sex, begins greatly to abate, and to give place to a 
more social intercourse. But such is the prevalence 
of national habit, that a few families, which form a 
more agreeable mixture of company, are considered 
as differing from the established customs, and are 
still known by the name of the French Society. 

Sumptuary laws, as well as those against immoral¬ 
ity, are at Zurich well observed : the former indeed 
may exist, and be carried into execution even among 
a people much corrupted, if it be the policy of gov¬ 
ernment to enforce their observance. But the seve¬ 
rest penalties will not at all times be sufficient to pre¬ 
vent crimes of an immoral tendency, amidst a gene¬ 
ral dissoluteness of manners ; popular and patriotic 
principles can alone invigorate such laws, and give to 
them their full operation. Secret crimes cannot be 
prevented ; but it is an evident proof of public virtue, 
when open breaches of morality are discountenanced. 
Among their sumptuary laws, the use of a carriage in 
the town is prohibited to all sorts of persons except 
strangers; and it is almost inconceivable that, in a 
place so commercial and wealthy, luxury should so 
little prevail. 


Of Swiss Clocks. 

All the clocks in the town of Basle go an hour 
faster than real time; at eleven o’clock they strike 
twelve, and so of the other hours. Different reasons 
have been assigned for this singularity ; some assert 
that it was first practised during the council ol Basle, 
in order to assemble at an earlier hour the cardinals 
and bishops, who, being very lazy and indolent, arri¬ 
ved too late. Others maintain that a conspiracy be¬ 
ing formed to assassinate the magistrate, at midnight, 
one of the burgomasters, who had notice of the de¬ 
sign, advanced the tov/n clock an hour, by ^Yhich 


114 Goitres and Idiots, 

means the conspirators, imagining they had missed 
the time, retired ; and that the clocks are still kept in 
the same advanced state, as a perpetual memorial of 
this happy deliverance. But there is a third reason 
given for this strange custom, which seems the most 
probable. It is well known that the choirs of cathe¬ 
drals are constructed towards the east ; that of Basle 
declines somewhat from this direction, and the sun¬ 
dial, which is placed on the outside of the choir, and 
by which the town clock is always regulated, partakes 
of this declination ; a circumstance which occasions 
a variation from true time of more than forty-five 
minutes. 

The inhabitants of Basle are still so strongly at¬ 
tached to this whimsical custom, that although it has 
been often proposed in the sovereign council to regu¬ 
late their clocks properly, yet the motion has been 
invariably rejected, and the people would suspect 
that their liberties were invaded if their clocks were 
to agree with those of the rest of Europe. A few 
years since, several leading men of the town deter¬ 
mined to alter the hand of the dial half a minute a 
day until the shadow should imperceptibly point to 
the true hour. This expedient was accordingly prac¬ 
tised, and the clock had already lost nearly three 
quarters of an hour, when an accident discovered the 
design : the magistrates were accordingly compelled 
to place the hand of the sundial in its former position, 
and to regulate the hours by it as usual. 

Of the Goitres and Idiots, 

The inhabitants of that part of Switzerland called 
Vallais are very much subject to goitres, or large ex- 
cressences of flesh, that grow from the throat, and 
often increase to an enormous size j but what is 
more extraordinary, idiocy also remarkably abounds 
among them. Instances of both kinds perpetually 


Goitres and Idiots. 115 

attract the attention of travellers : some idiots may 
be seen basking in the sun with their tongues out, 
and their heads hanging down, exhibiting the most 
affecting spectacle of intellectual imbecility that can 
possibly be conceived. It is not altogether certain 
what are the causes which produce these strange 
phenomena. 

But the same causes which generate goitres, prob¬ 
ably operate in the case of idiots ; for ' whenever the 
former prevail to at considerable degree, the latter 
invariably abound. As such is the nice and inexpli¬ 
cable connection between the mind and the body, that 
the one ever sympathizes with the other, it is by no 
means an ill-grounded conjecture, that the same causes 
which affect the body should affect the mind ; or, in 
other words, that the same waters, which create ob¬ 
structions and goitres, should also occasion mental 
imbecility and disarrangement. 

Although the idiots are frequently the children of 
goitrous parents, and have usually those swellings 
themselves, yet they are sometimes the offspring even 
of healthy parents, whose other children are properly 
organized, and are themselves free from guttural ex¬ 
crescences. These tumours, when they increase to a 
considerable magnitude, check perspiration, and ren¬ 
der those who are afflicted with them exceedingly in¬ 
dolent and languid. 

It is to be presumed that a people accustomed to 
these excrescences will not be shocked at their de¬ 
formity ; but they are not considered as beauties, as 
some writers have asserted. To judge from the ac¬ 
counts of many travellers, it might be supposed that 
the natives, without exception, were either idiots or 
goitrous; whereas, in fact, the Vallasians in general 
are a robust race; and all that with truth can be affirm¬ 
ed is, that goitrous persons and idiots abound more 
in the districts of the Vallais than perhaps in any 
other part of the globe. 


116 Goitres and Idiots, 

It has been asserted, that the people very much re¬ 
spect these idiots, and even consider them as bless- 
ings from heaven such is certainly the opinion of 
the lower classes of the community. They call them 
Souls of God without sin: and many parents pre¬ 
fer their idiot children, to those whose understand¬ 
ings are perfect; because, as they are incapable of 
intentional criminality, they consider them as certain 
of future happiness. This opinion disposes parents 
to pay a greater degree of attention to such helpless 
beings. These idiots are suffered to marry, as well 
among themselves as with others. 

This article may be concluded with a short ac¬ 
count of the avalanches^ or the falling of those im¬ 
mense bodies of ice, which destroys every thing m 
their course, and not unfrequently overwhelm even a 
whole village. The best preservative against their 
effects being the forests, with which the Alps abound, 
there is scarcely a village, if situated at the foot of a 
mountain, that is not sheltered by trees, which the 
inhabitants preserve with uncommon reverence as 
their general protector. Thus what constitutes one 
of the principal beauties in the country affords secu¬ 
rity also to the people. These avalanches are justly 
described by Mr. Thomson in his Seasons: 


Among these hilly regions, where embraced 
In peaceful vales the happy Orisons dwell, 

Oft, rushing sudden from the loaded clififs. 

Mountains of snow their gathering terrors roll. 

From steep to steep, loud thundering down they come, 
A wintry waste in dire commotion all; 

And herds and flocks, and travellers and swains. 

And sometimes whole brigades of marching troops. 

Or hamlets sleeping in the dead of night, 

Are deep beneath, the smothering ruin hurled. 


( 115 ^ ) 


HOLLAND. 


©ESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE BATA¬ 
VIAN REPUBLIC. 

Of their Persons^ Dress^ and general Character, 

THE natives of the United Provinces are of good 
stature, and inclined to be corpulent, but are remark¬ 
able in general for a heavy awkward mien ; their fea¬ 
tures^ are regular, and their complexion fair. 


KmbosomM in the deep where Holland lies, 

Methinks her patient sons before me stand, 

Where the proud ocean leans against the land, 

And, sedulous to stop the coming tide. 

Lift the tall rampire’s artifical pride; 

Onward methinks, and diligently slow. 

The firm connected bulwark seems to go, - 
Spreads its long arms amidst the wat’ry roar, 

Scoops out an empire, and usurps the shore ; 

While the pent ocean, rising o’er the pile. 

Sees an amphibious world beneath him smile, 

The slow canal, the yellow blossom’d vale, 

Tbe willow tufted bank, the gliding sail, 

The crowded mart, the cultivated plain, 

A new creation rescued from his reign. 

Goldsmith. 

The better sort of people imitate the French fash¬ 
ions in their dress ; but those who are stamped with 
the genuine character of their native country never 
fail to load themselves with an enormous incum¬ 
brance of clothes. Both men and women wear at 
least two waistcoats, with as many coats, and the 
former cover their limbs with double trowsers. But 
the dress of the young girls is the most singular, es¬ 
pecially at the time of any festival and holiday. In 
speaking of these, an amusing writer observes, that 
any one would have supposed that the figures which 

VOL. II. M 


118 Perso7is^ Dreas^ Ssr’c. of the Dutch, 
appeared were masques, or designed as caricatures. 
Imagine a short figure, with more breadth than goes 
to the proportion of elegance, and with very little al¬ 
teration in the width downwards to the waist, the 
petticoats descending only half way below the knee. 
Imagine further, a round small face covered with a 
hat of three feet in diameter, perfectly circular, and 
applied to the head in a part contiguous to the cir¬ 
cumference. Now conceive' a number of these fig¬ 
ures in motion, brandishing their horizontal hats, 
rolling their diminutive eyes, and affecting a thous¬ 
and ridiculous graces, under cover of this extensive 
canopy. The tout ensemble may bring to the recol¬ 
lection those sculptural vagaries, in which a human 
figure is made the prop of a cathedral seat, the sup¬ 
port of a wainscot pulpit, or the stand of a mahog¬ 
any table. 

The Dutch are usually distinguished into five clas¬ 
ses ; the peasants and farmers ; sea- faring men ; mer¬ 
chants and tradesmen ; those who live upon their es¬ 
tates, or the interest of their money \ and the mili¬ 
tary officers. 

The peasants arc industrious, but stupid, easily 
managed by fair language, if they are allowed time 
to understand it. The sea-faring men are a plain, 
rough, and hardy people, seldom using more words 
than are necessary about their business, and have re¬ 
peatedly shown great valour in contending with their 
enemies. The trading people, in general, are said 
to exert all their skill to take advantage of the folly 
or ignorance of those with whom they have any deal¬ 
ing ,* and are great extortioners, when there is no 
law to restrain them ; but in other cases they are the 
plainest and best dealers in the world. Those who 
live on their patrimonial estates in great cities resem¬ 
ble the merchants and tradesmen in the modesty of 
their dress, and their parsimonious way of living: 
but between the education and manners of those clas- 


Mouses^ Diet, ^c, of the Dutch, 119 
ses there is a wide difference. The gentry or nobil¬ 
ity are usually employed in military service \ but 
their most conspicuous characteristic is, a great fru¬ 
gality and order in their expences ; what they can 
spare from domestic charges is laid out in the orna¬ 
ment and furniture of their houses, rather than in 
keeping great tables, fine clothes, and equipages. 

Of their Houses, Diet, and Amusements, 

The lower part of the houses in Holland are lined 
with Dutch tiles; and their kitchen furniture, con¬ 
sisting of copper, pewter, and iron, are kept so ex¬ 
ceedingly bright, that it affords a striking proof of 
their cleanliness. Their beds and tables are covered 
with the finest linen, their rooms are adorned with 
pictures, and their yards and gardens with flowers. 
They heat their rooms with stoves, placed underneath 
or round the apartments, which render the heat equal 
on all sides. The women have little stoves or pans 
of lighted peat, which they put into a square box and 
lay under their feet. People of condition have these 
carried with them on visits, and even to church. 

The diet of the Dutch boors is usually mean, con¬ 
sisting mostly of roots, herbs, sour milk, and pulse; 
but in the towns the common people live better. All 
ranks in the nation are much addicted to the use of 
butter, and those of the inferior classes seldom take 
a journey without a butter-box in their pocket. 

The diversions of the Hollanders are, bowls, bil¬ 
liards, chess, and tennis. Shooting wild geese and 
ducks in winter, and angling in summer, make an¬ 
other part of pastimes. In the most rigorous season 
of the year, sledges and skates are a great diversion 
Both men and women use them alike, to carry their 
goods to market, as well as for pleasure. The sledge 
is drawn by a horse, or pushed along by a man on 
skates. When the snow is upon the ground, and the 


120 Dutch Mode of Travelling', 

streets are frozen, young people of. consequence ap¬ 
pear abroad in the most magnificent sledges. The 
person drives the horse himself, which is covered 
with a rich skin or caparison, and a fine tuft of feath¬ 
ers, and the rider is comfortably wrapped up in furs, 
or a fine Indian quilt. The sledges are of various 
shapes, finely painted, gilt and varnished, and tbe 
harness is rich and splendid. 

In summer, it is common to see multitudes of peo¬ 
ple walking out on the banks of fine canals, well 
planted with trees, or by the sea-shore, or in public 
tea-gardens. Almost all these excursions end in the 
tavern, where they meet with a variety of little amuse¬ 
ments, and agreeable entertainment at a cheap rate. 
Even common labourers indulge themselves in such 
recreations. The same distinctions are not maintain¬ 
ed in Holland between wealthy traders and mechan¬ 
ics as in other countries. They converse pretty much 
on a level; neither is it easy to know the man from 
the master, or the maid from her mistress. 

Of the Dutch Mode of Travelling, 

Their usual mode of travelling is in covered boats, 
drawn by a horse, at the rate of three miles an hour ; 
for which the fare does not amount to a penny a mile. 
A passenger in such a vehicle has the conveniency of 
carrying a portmanteau, or provisions, so that he need 
not be at any expence in a public-house by the way. 
The inns generally afford a soft bed and clean linen ; 
but it is difficult to procure any other chamber, than 
one of the several little cabins, that are ranged round 
a great room, where people of different ranks lie pro¬ 
miscuously, and disturb one another the whole night. 

Although the common fare is at the rate of a pen¬ 
ny per mile, vet strangers are usually counselled to 
engage the roof or rujfe^ which is the name distin¬ 
guishing the best cabin, and for those who are averse 


Dutch Mode of Travelling. 121 

from mixing with a promiscuous society, and have a 
decided antipathy to smoke, it is certainly a wise pre¬ 
caution In engaging this, a traveller will have an 
example of Dutch accuracy in their minutest transac¬ 
tions ,* a formal printed receipt or ticket is given, for 
the few pence which it costs, by a commissary, who 
has no other business than to regulate the affairs of 
the boats. The punctuality of the departure and ar¬ 
rival of these vehicles is well known, and justifies the 
method of reckoning distances by hours, instead of 
leagues or miles. 

Every man who enters the boat, whatever be his 
condition, either brings a pipe in his mouth or his 
hand. A slight touch of the hat, upon entering the 
cabin, franks him for the whole time of his stay; and 
the laws of etiquette allow him to smoke in silence to 
the end of the passage. We see, as at a meeting of 
Quakers, fixed features, and changeless postures ; the 
whole visage is mysterious, and solemn, but betray¬ 
ing more of absence than intelligence. Hours will 
pass, and no mouth expand, but to whiff the smoke ; 
nor any limb be put in motion, except to rekindle 
the pipe. 

Nothing can wear a more awkward appearance than 
the carriages, the bodies of which are placed on low 
sledges, and drawn by one horse. The driver is on 
foot, and, in addition to the concern of the horse, he 
is obliged to watch every movement of the sledge, 
that the carriage may not be overset; for which pur-v 
pose, he walks by the side, with the reins in one hand, 
and in the other a wetted rope, which he sometimes 
throws under the sledge, to prevent its taking fire, 
and to fill up the little gaps in the pavement. Of 
these sledges there are great numbers in the city of 
Amsterdam ; the price is about eight-pence for any 
distance within the city, and eight-pence an hour for 
attendance. Some few years past no four-wheel car¬ 
riages v/ere to be seen. 


M 2 


122 


Of Amstetdanu 

Oh happy streets I to rumbling-wheels unknown, 

No carts, no coaches, shake the floating town ! GaVo 

Later refinements have, at length, introduced them ; 
and this inelegant and inexpeditious mode of visi¬ 
ting and airing is abandoned to persons, whose for¬ 
tune or frugality admit not of a more costly equipage. 

Of Amsterdam^ Rotterdam^ North Holland, 

Almost all the principal thoroughfares of Amster¬ 
dam are narrow ; but the carriages being few, and 
their motion slow, the foot passengers are perfectly 
safe, though there is no raised pavement for them.— 
There are broad terraces to the streets, over the two 
chief canals; but these are sometimes encumbered 
by workshops placed immediately over the water; be¬ 
tween which and the houses the owners maintain an 
intercourse of packages and planks, with very little 
care about the freedom of the passage. 

The ardour, the activity, the crowd, and the bustle, 
which prevail in all quarters of the port, are incon¬ 
ceivable. Bells are sounding, and vessels parting, at 
all hours. Piles of merchandize, and throngs of pas¬ 
sengers fill all the avenues. It appears the mart of 
exhaustless plenty, and the grand depositary of Eu¬ 
rope. The streets are filthy as well as narrow; the 
whole city pierced with an infinity of canals, which 
cut each other in every possible direction. 

The principal edifices in Holland are founded on 
piles, owing to the swampiness of the ground. The 
whole country being as it were taken from the ocean, 
has afforded Butler an object for his raillery : in his 
description he alludes to the character of the Dutch, 
as being employed by all nations in exporting and im¬ 
porting merchandize. 

A country that draws fifty feet of water, 

In which men live as in the hold of nature, 

And when the sea does in upon them break. 

And drowns a province does but spring a leak f 


123 


Of Rotterdam, 

That always ply the pump, and never think 
They can be safe, but at the rate they sink ; 

That live as if they had been run aground, 

And when they are, are cast away and drown’d ; 

That dwell in ship?, like swarms of rats, and prey 
Upon the goods all nations’ fleets convey; 

And when their merchants are blown up and crackt, 

Whole towns are cast away in storms, and wreckt; 

That feed, like canibals, on other fishes, 

And serve their cousins-german up in dishes ; 

A land that rides at anchor, and is moor’d. 

In which they do not live, but go abroad. 

Btttler. 

It may be constantly observed of the Dutch, that 
they will never, either in their societies or their busi¬ 
ness, employ their time for a moment in gratifying 
malice, indulging envy, or assuming those petty tri- 
uftftphs which fill life with so much unnecessary mis¬ 
ery : but they will seldom step one inch out of their 
way, or surrender one moment of their time, to save 
those whom they do not know from any inconven¬ 
ience. A Dutchman throwing cheeses into a ware¬ 
house, or drawing iron along a pathway, will not st:)p 
while a lady or an inferior person passes, unless he 
percieves somebody inclined to protect them ,* a ware¬ 
house man trundling a cask, or a woman in her favour¬ 
ite occupation of throwing water upon her windows, 
will leave it entirely to the passengers to take care of 
their limbs or their clothes. 

In Rotterdam, the streets, markets, and quays, are 
crowded with the sons of industry. Every coffee¬ 
house is an exchange ; and all the society cultivated 
refers to bargains, transfers, and contracts. There 
are no theatres, but warehouses; no routs, but on 
the change ; no amusements, but that of ballancing 
their profits. They shew little deference to a stranger, 
if he appears to have no interest in their commercial 
transactions. He may dine with them, without ob¬ 
taining the interchange of a minute’s conversation.— 
Their language seems formed for them, and they for 
their language. Rude, harsh, and gtittural; it does not 


124 Of North Holland, 

appear to be adapted for the polite intercourse of so¬ 
ciety nor the effusions of love. Gallantry and polite¬ 
ness are playthings to tare and trett; and all the 
courtly graces of language are baubles, compared 
with those sinewy terms that tie and untie, with ef¬ 
fect, the knots of trade. 

Industrious habits in each bosom reign, 

And industry begets a love of gain ; 

Hence all the good from opulence that springs, 

With all those ills superfluous treasure brings. 

Are here display’d. Their much-lov’d wealth imparts 
Convenience, plenty, elegance, and arts; 

But view them closer, craft and fraud appear. 

E’en liberty itself is barter’d here. 

At gold’s superior charms all freedom flies ; 

The needy sell it, and the rich man buys ; 

A land of tyrants, and a den of slaves, 

Here wretches seek dishonourable graves ; 

And calmly bent, to servitude conform, 

Dull as their lakes that sleep beneath the storm. 

Goldsmith. 

A Stranger will often be struck with the sight of 
waggons filled with large brass jugs, bright as new 
gold. In these vessels, which have short narrow 
necks, covered with a woo*den stopper, milk is brought 
from the fields throughout Holland. It is carried to 
the towns in light waggons or carts, drawn by excel¬ 
lent horses. 

On a holiday, or at a fair time in the villages, may 
be seen peasants sitting on benches round a circle, in 
which children are dancing to the scraping of a 
French fidler. The women wear large hats, such as 
have been already described, lined with damask or 
flowered linen. Children of seven years old, as well 
as women of seventy, are in this preposterous dis¬ 
guise. All on these occasions, have necklaces, ear¬ 
rings, and ornamental clasps for the temples, of solid 
gold. 

At the grand fair at the Hague, there are theatres, 
reviews, public breakfasts, and every other species of 
amusement; all the public roads are filled with car- 


General Character of the Germans, 125 
riages, and the streets crowded with puppet-shows, 
mountebanks, and wild beasts. 

^ In North Holland the insides of the houses are 
richly decorated, and finished with the most costly or¬ 
naments ; but the principal apartments are often kept 
for show, while the owners live in the cellars and gar¬ 
rets. Some of the rooms are paved with small square 
tiles, put together with cement. The furniture in 
one particular chamber is composed of silken orna¬ 
ments, which, by an ancient prescription, is bequeath¬ 
ed from father to son, and preserved as an offering 
to Hymen : such is the custom of these Arcadian 
villagers, from generation to generation. There is, 
like^^ise, a practice common to all the natives of North 
Holland; to every house, of whatever quality, there 
is an artificial door, elevated nearly three feet above 
the level of the ground, and never opened but on 
two occasions. When any part of the family mar¬ 
ries, the bride and bridegroom enter the house by this 
doori and when either of the parties die, the corpse 
is carried out by the same door. Immediately after 
the due ceremonies are performed in either of those 
cases, this door is fastened up never more to turn on 
its hinges again, ^till some new event of a similar na¬ 
ture demand its services. The extraordinary neat¬ 
ness which prevails through the whole is a prodigy. 


GERMANY. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF GERMANY. 

General Character of the Germans, 

THE peculiar turn of the Germans seems to be 
for philosophy ; they are distinguished from all the 




126 Persons^ Dr ess ^ of the Germans. 
nations of Europe for cool and generally a just judg¬ 
ment, united with extreme Industry. 

The character of men depends much on the gov¬ 
ernment under which they live. That of the Ger¬ 
mans has in general as little brilliancy in it as the con¬ 
stitution of the empire : they have none of the na¬ 
tional pride and patriotism by which Britons and 
Spaniards are distinguished. Their pride and pat¬ 
riotic sentiments only extend to that part of Germa¬ 
ny in which they are born ; to the rest of their coun¬ 
trymen they are as strange as to any foreigners. 

Though the character of the Germans be not so 
brilliant as that of other nations, still it is not desti¬ 
tute of its peculiar excellencies. The German is the 
man of the world ; he lives under every sky, and 
conquers every natural obstacle to his happiness.— 
His industry is inexhaustible. Poland, Hungary, and 
Russia, are indepted to German emigrants. Recti¬ 
tude is an almost universal characteristic of the peo¬ 
ple of this country; nor are the manners of the peas¬ 
ants and those of the inhabitants of the lesser cities, 
by any means so corrupt as those of several neigh¬ 
bouring countries : it is owing to this, that, notwith¬ 
standing the great emigrations, the country is still so 
well peopled. To conclude ; frugality on the side of 
the Protestants, and frankness and good heartedness 
on the side of the Catholics, art true national charac¬ 
teristics. 

Cf their Persons^ Dress., 

The Germans are tall and well made ; the women 
are, in general, well looking, and many of them will 
rival the greatest beauties in other countries. Both 
sexes affect to dress in rich clothes, according to the 
fashion of England or France. Many of the princi¬ 
pal people wear a great deal of gold and silver lace ; 
the ladies at court do not differ much in their dress 
from those of the same rank here. In some of the 


Industry and Amusements of the Germans. 127 
courts they appear in furs, richly covered with as 
many diamonds as they can procure. The inhabit¬ 
ants of several cities in Germany dress extremely 
odd though their appearance has much improved with¬ 
in these twenty or thirty years ,* but the artizans and 
labourers, as in other parts of Europe, wear those 
sort of clothes that are best adapted to their several 
employments, convenience, or circumstances. 

In this country the stoves are made so portable, 
that ladies take them to church, to prevent the effects 
of cold ; and in some parts they lay between two 
feather beds, covered with fine sheets, which is said 
to be a very agreeable practice. Under several of 
the petty German princes, the lower classes of the 
people are dreadfully oppressed to supply the wants 
of their sovereigns ; in other respects, they have as 
much the means of happiness as subjects of the same 
class in other countries. 

Of German Industry and Amusements ; of their Food^ 
and of the treatment of the Women. 

Industry and application are the most considerable 
traits of the German character. The works which 
they produce, in watch and clock making, in the arts 
of turnery, sculpture, painting, and architecture, are 
very wonderful. No nation makes greater festivals 
in honour of marriages, funerals, and births. 

The amusements of the Germans very much re¬ 
semble those of the French and English ; to these, 
however, they add the chase of the wild boar, which 
they prefer to all other sports ; they have also bull 
and bear-baiting. In the winter, when the different 
branches of the Danube are frozen, and the earth is 
covered with snow, the ladies amuse themselves in 
sledges of different forms, resembling tigers, swans, 
shells, &c. The lady is seated, in a habit of velvet, 
lined with rich furs, and ornamented with lace and 
diamonds^ having also a bonnet of the same sort. 


128 Of the German Government, 

The sledge is fastened to a horse, stag, or other ani¬ 
mal, which is ornamented with feathers, ribbons, and 
a multitude of little bells. 

O’er crackling ice, o’er gulphs profound, 

With nimble glide the skaiters play ; 

O’er treach’rous pleasure’s flow’ry ground 
Thus lightly skim, and haste away 

Johnson. 

As this diversion generally takes place at night, 
servants go before the sledges on horseback, with 
lighted torches •, another guides the horse in the 
sledge from behind. 

The most liberal hospitality and disinterestedness 
mark the character of the Germans. They make an 
immoderate use of coffee, but they drink it very 
weak. Their diet consists chiefly of ham, smoaked 
meats, black bread, potatoes, red cabbage, beer and 
cheese. They endure, with patience and fortitude, 
hunger and cold, but they cannot support thirst and 
heat; brandy and beer are more important to them 
than solid food. They almost all chew tobacco. 

The condition of the lower classes of women is 
very miserable ; it differs but little from slavery; -the 
most laborious parts of sowing and gathering in the 
harvest* and of the other departments of rural econo¬ 
my, fall to their share. Habit, the example of their 
mothers, the knowledge of their dependence, so far 
restrain them that they never murmur under the heavy 
tyranny of the stronger sex. 

Of the German Government, 

Almost all the German princes, and there are near¬ 
ly three hundred of them, govern their various do¬ 
minions according to their own pleasure : but they 
form a great federation, subject to political laws, at 
the head of which is the Emperor, whose power 
over the diet is not dictatorial, but purely executive, 
which nevertheless gives him considerable influence. 


Of the Inhabitants of Vienna, 

The supreme power of the German empire is the 
diet, composed of the emperor and the three colleges 
of the empire. The first is the electoral college j the 
second of the princes ; and the third, that of the im¬ 
perial cities. 

The ecclesiastical, as well as the secular princes 
are absolute in their dominions. 

Germany contains a crowd of ecclesiastics, whose 
jurisdictions are independent ; they possess consider¬ 
able powers, and are chosen by different chapters. 

The free cities are also sovereign states ; the impe¬ 
rial cities, or those which make part of the diet, quar¬ 
ter the imperial eagle in their arms; the Hanseatic 
towns had still greater privileges, but these are abol¬ 
ished. 

The imperial chamber, and that of Vienna, better 
known by the name of the aulic council, are two su¬ 
preme courts for determining the great causes of the 
respective parts of the empire. The imperial council 
is composed of fifty judges ; the president and four 
of the others are named by the emperor; each elector 
chooses one, and the other princes the rest. The 
aulic council, formerly a mere revenue eburt attached 
to the house of Austria, consists of a president, vice- 
chancellor, vice president, and a certain number of 
aulic councillors, of whom six are protestants, besides 
other officers; but the emperor is, in fact, absolute 
master of the council. 

Of the Inhabitants of Vienna. 

The people of Vienna are in general honest and 
simple in their manners, though in some instances, a 
studied politeness, and a kind of affectation of load¬ 
ing with titles and compliments, are to be remarked, 
which form a considerable contrast with the natural 
frankness of their tempers. The women are hand¬ 
some, mild in their manners, and frequently preserve 
their beauty very long. They love dress, and luxu- 
VOL. II. V 


130 Of the Inhabitants of Vienna. 

rious living; their minds do not want cultivation, 
though they read but few books. To music they at¬ 
tend most assiduously. 

Nowhere are there so many amusements as in this 
city ; besides a great number of houses of public en¬ 
tertainment, where eating and drinking, and dancing, 
are constantly going on, the common people take their 
part in the diversions which seem reserved for the 
higher classes. The greatest happiness they can 
enjoy is that of a good table, and with it two or three 
choice friends. They love to frequent public places, 
and take an interest in what is doing. 

Some of the lower class and servants still retain 
the use of bonnets richly embroidered with gold.— 
The streets of Vienna are remarkably quiet and or¬ 
derly, so that as early as ten o’clock at night every 
thing is silent. It is customary for a lodger, when 
he returns home at a later hour, to pay a small fee to 
the porter of the house, for every house has a porter. 

The price of provisions in this place is inconceiv¬ 
ably low. Hungary furnishes meat, corn, and wine, 
in abundance; Austria supplies plenty of wood by 
the navigation of the Danube; and there are one 
• hundred and fifty large gardens for table vegetables 
around the suburbs of the town, which are cultivated 
with skill and attention : by these means all kinds of 
garden productions are cheap and abundant, though 
the cultivators are in easy circumstances. Their la¬ 
bourers are chiefly inhabitants of the Styrian moun¬ 
tains, who come regularly every spring to Vienna for 
employment. As the articles of the first necessity, 
as bread, wine, meat, and vegetables, are plentiful, 
the wages of the workmen are low ; and as the sur¬ 
rounding country furnishes itself with the principal 
materials for the most necessary manufactures, there 
are few productions which require much expence. 

Modern Greek is much cultivated here; it em¬ 
ploys, at present, three printing presses ; and there 


Description of the Augarten at Vienna* 131 
are Greeks at Vienna, who translate into their own 
language a variety of German, Italian and French 
works. They likewise publish Greek almanacks and 
gazettes. 

Every Englishman, whatever be his condition, en¬ 
joys from long custom the privilege of being present¬ 
ed at court by the resident minister from his country, 
and consequently has access to the first ckclcs, which 
has often given rise to very singular and entertaining 
adventures. 

The emperor Joseph opened the Augarten to the 
public. The first entrance presents a magnificent 
garden, but entirely the creature of art. It is form¬ 
ed of long straight shady walks, impenetrable to the 
sun, full of nightingales, and the favourite prome¬ 
nade of all the pretty women. At the principal en¬ 
trance is a large building converted into a splendid 
eating-house. It is composed of galleries, beautiful¬ 
ly decorated, in which the business of good cheer is 
going on from morning till night, either to small or 
large parties. 

Before this building is a circle surrounded with 
chestnut-trees, under which are tables for serving tea, 
coffee, ices, &c. A fine terrace surrounds the lower 
part of the garden, beneath which the Danube is seen 
running in a gentle current. From hence the eye 
wanders with delight to a fine picturesque chain of 
mountains at a distance ; and nearer, to the fine 
woods and country villas, beautiful meadows, nume¬ 
rous hamlets and villages; and just before the view 
is the thick and gloomy forest of the Brigit. This 
forest, which is about a league in extent, is divided 
through its whole length by the Danube, the bank of 
which affords a delicious walk, and the stream is here 
peaceful and slow. At the entrance of the forest are 
small houses, where refreshments are sold. On feast 
days and holidays the forest is full of people, and 
then every cottage is the scene of mirth and good 


132 Description of the Prater at Vienna* 
i;heer, besides numerous parties under trees, in the 
adjoining meadows, or on the banks of the river. 

The cottages are small buildings of a single story, 
well built, and white washed without, whilst within 
appearance of health and plenty sits on the counte¬ 
nance of the inhabitants. 

A little beyond the town, you arrive at the Prater, 
by a fine avenue, a league in length, which runs 
through the forest. This forest appears like a large 
village, for houses and cottages are scattered through¬ 
out. There are houses for refreshment in the Turk¬ 
ish, Chinese, Italian, and English taste, besides rooms 
for all kinds of amusements. 

The inhabitants of the forest are neither shepherds 
nor woodmen, but are the sellers of coffee and lemon¬ 
ade, confectioners, keep eating-houses, or else are mu¬ 
sicians, dancers, shew slight-of hand tricks, and a 
number of similar employments. Here is a particu¬ 
lar priviledged part of the wood, in which princes and 
citizens, monks and soldiers, all that is high or low 
in rank, all that is pretty or homely among the wo¬ 
men, walk together without restraint or distinction. 
This is the place for rope-dancers, dealers in vari¬ 
ous toys and curiosities, so that the whole wood 
seems an enchanted palace of pleasures. Whilst the 
walkers are thus amusing themselves, the large ave¬ 
nue is crowded with splendid equipages, arid car¬ 
riages of every description, by which the whole road 
as far as the Danube, which terminates the course, 
appears to be in motion. 

The Prater is the place in which magnificent fire¬ 
works are often exhibited, and all other out-door 
spectacles, which are very numerous in this capital. 
But nothing can exceed the pleasure, in a fine day, of 
dining under some tree on the banks of the Danube, 
regaled with charming music, that attracts the stags 
and deer, who come and eat bread out of the hand. 

These are employments which render Vienna so at- 


Of the Timber Floats on the Rhine, 133 
tractive, and which are possessed by few other Euro¬ 
pean capitals. 

The Timber Floats consist of the fellings of almost 
every German forest, which, by streams, or short land 
carriage, can be brought to the Rhine. Having passed 
the rocks of Bingen, and the rapids of St. Goar, in 
small detachments, the several rafts are compacted at 
some town not higher than Andernach, into one im¬ 
mense body, of which an idea may be formed from 
the following dimensions. 

The length is from 700 to 1000 feet; the breadth 
from 50 to 90; the depth, when manned with the 
whole crew, is usually seven feet above the surface of 
the water. The trees in the principal rafts are not 
less than 70 feet long, of which ten compose a raft. 

On this sort of floating island, five hundred labour¬ 
ers of different classes are employed, maintained and 
lodged during their whole voyage ; and a little street 
of deal huts is built upon it for their reception. The 
captain’s apartment and kitchen are distinguished 
from the others by being better built. 

The first rafts laid down in this structure, are call¬ 
ed the foundation, and are either of oak, or fir trees, 
bound together at their tops, and strengthened with 
firs, fastened upon them cross-ways by iron spikes. 
When this foundation has been carefully compacted, 
the other rafts are laid upon it; the upper service is 
rendered even ; store-houses and other apartments 
are raised; and the whole is strengthened by large 
masts of oak. 

Before the main body proceed several thin narrow 
rafts, composed only of one floor of timbers, which 
are used to give it direction and force, according to 
the efforts of the labourers upon them. Behind it 
are a great number of small boats, some containing 
articles of rigging, cables, anchors, iron chains, &c- 
and others are used for messages from this populous 
and important float to the towns by which it passes: 

N 2 


134 Of the Timber Floai^s on the Rhine. 

The consumption of provisions on board such a 
float is estimated for each voyage at fifteen or twenty 
thousand pounds of fresh meat, forty or fifty thou¬ 
sand pounds of bread, ten or fifteen thousand pounds 
of cheese, with proportional quantities of butter, dri¬ 
ed meat, and beer. 

The apartments on the deck are, first, that of the 
pilot, which is near one of the magazines; and oppo¬ 
site to it, that of the persons called masters of the 
float; another class, masters of the valets, have also 
their apartments; near this is that of the valets, and 
then that of the sub-valets ; after this are the cabins 
of the tyroloisy or last class of persons employed in 
the float, of whom eighty or a hundred sleep upon 
straw in each, to the number of four hundred in all. 
There is, lastly, a large eating room, in which the 
greater part of the crew dine at the same time. 

About twenty tolls are paid in the course of the 
voyage, the amount of which varies with the size of 
the fleet and the estimation of its value, in which latter 
respect the proprietors are so much subject to the ca¬ 
price of the custom-house ofiieers, that the first signal 
of their intention to depart is to collect all these gen¬ 
tlemen from the neighbourhood, and to give them a 
grand dinner on board. After this, the float is sound¬ 
ed and measured, and their demands upon the owners 
settled. 

On the morning of departure, every labourer takes 
his post, the rowers on their benches, the guides of 
the leading rafts on theirs, and each boats crew in its 
own vessel. The eldest of the valet-masters then 
makes the tour of the whole float, examines the la¬ 
bourers, passes them in review, and dismisses those 
who are unfit for the business. He afterwards ad¬ 
dresses them in a short speech; recommends regu¬ 
larity and alertness, and repeats the terms of the en¬ 
gagement, that each shall have five crowns and a 
half, besides provisions for the ordinary voyage f but 


Mode of Travelling in Germany* 13 5 
that in case of delay by accident they shall work 
three days gratis ; but that after this each shall be 
paid about four-pence per day. 

Afterwards the laboures have a repast, and then, 
each being at his post, the pilot who stands on high 
near the rudder, takes off his hat, and calls out, “ Let 
us all pray^ In an instant there is the happy spec¬ 
tacle of all these numbers on their knees, imploring a 
blessing on their undertaking. 

The anchors, which were fastened on the shore, 
are now brought on board, the pilot gives a signal, 
and the rowers put the whole float in motion, while 
the crews of the several boats ply round it, to facili¬ 
tate the departure. 

Dort in Holland is the destination of all these 
floats, the sale of one of which occupies several 
months, and frequently produces 30,000/. or more. 

Of German Travelling. 

The business of supplying post-horses is here not 
the private undertaking of the inn-keepers; so that 
the emulation and civility which might be excited by 
their views of profit, are entirely wanting. The 
Prince de la Tour Taxis, is the hereditary grand 
post-master of the empire, an office which has raised 
his family from the station of private count to a seat 
in the college of princes. He has a monopoly of the 
profits arising from this concern, for which he is 
obliged to forward all the imperial packets gratis. A 
settled number of horses and a post-master are kept 
at every stage; where the arms of the prince, and 
some motto entreating a blessing upon the post, dis- 
tinguishe the door of his office. The postmaster 
determines, according to the number of travellers and 
the quantity of baggage, how many horses must be 
hired. 

The price for each horse is fixed, besides which 
the postillion is entitled to trinkgeld^ or drink-money. 


136 Mode of Travelling in Germany* 
and according as a passenger is more or less liberal 
in this article, in the same proportion will he regulate 
his pace. The whole expense of a chaise and two 
horses, including the tolls and trinkgeld^ which word 
the postillions accommodate to English ears, by pro¬ 
nouncing it drink'healthy does not exceed eight-pence 
per mile. Strangers, however, will do well to take 
their own carriage, as no description can give a pro¬ 
per idea of the filth of a German chaise. One may 
be purchased in Holland for about 20/. and be sold 
again on the return for 15/. 

The regular drivers wear a sort of uniform, con¬ 
sisting of a yellow coat, with black cuffs and cape, a 
small bugle horn, slung over the shoulders, and a 
yellow sash. At the entrance of towns and narrow 
passes, they sometimes sound the horn, playing upon 
it a perfect and not unpleasant tune, the music of their 
order. All other carriages give way to theirs, and 
persons travelling with them are considered as under 
the protection of the empire ; so that if they were 
robbed it would become a common cause to detect 
the aggressors. On this account highway robberies 
are seldom heard of in Germany. The security of 
the postillions is so strictly attended to, that no man 
dare strike them when they have a yellow coat on. In 
disputes with passengers they have, therefore, some¬ 
times been known to put off this coat, in drder to 
shew that they do not claim the extraordinary protec¬ 
tion of the laws. 

These postillions acknowledge no obligations to tra¬ 
vellers, but consider them as so many bales of goods, 
which they are under a contract with the post-master 
to deliver at a certain place, and within a certain 
time. Knowing that their slowness, if there be no 
addition to their trinkgeld, is of itself sufficient to 
compel some gratuity, they do not depart, from the 
German lu3tury of incivility, and frequently return no 
answer when they are questioned as to distance, or 


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Of the Bavarians* 1^7 

desired to call the servants at an inn, or to quit the 
worst part of the road. When you tell them they 
shall have a good drink-health for speed, they reply, 
“ yawf and after that think it unnecessary to 
reply to any enquiry till they ask for money at %he 
end of the stage. They are all provided with tobac¬ 
co-boxes and combustible bark, with which they strike 
a light immediately after leaving their town; in the 
hottest day, and on the most dusty road, they will 
begin to smoke, though every whiff flies into the fa¬ 
ces of the passengers behind. 

Of the Bavarians. 

The Bavarian, in general, is stout bodied, muscu¬ 
lar and fleshy; with a round head, a little peaked 
chin, a larger belly, and a pale complexion. Many 
of them look like caricatures of men ; they are heavy 
and awkward in their carriage, and their small eyes 
are said to betray a great deal of roguery. The wo¬ 
men are very handsome, their skin surpasses all the 
carnation ever used by painters ; the purest lily white 
is softly tinged with purple, as if by the hands of the 
Graces. The complexions of some of the peasants 
appear to be quite transparent. They are well shap¬ 
ed, more lively and graceful in their gestures than 
the men. 

The manners of the inhabitants of Munich are 
such as might be expected from forty thousand peo¬ 
ple who depend on the court, and for the most part 
go idle at its expence. Among the nobles there are 
instances of good breeding and politeness; but the 
people at large are eminent for inactivity, and strange 
want of attachment to their country. Many of the 
court ladies know of no other employment than play¬ 
ing with their parrots, their dogs, and their cats,— 
Some keep a hall full of cats, and several maids to 
attend them ; they converse half their time with them. 


138 German Anecdote. 

and serve them with coffee, &c. dressing them, ac 

cording to their fancy, differently every day. 

The country people are extremely dirty, their hovels 
have no appearance of habitable dwellings for human 
beings. Cheap as nails are in this country, and al¬ 
though half the roofs are frequently torn away by 
strong winds, yet the rich farmers cannot be per¬ 
suaded to nail their shingles properly together. In 
short, from the court to the smallest cottage, indo¬ 
lence is the most predominent part of the Bavarian 
character. 

This great indolence is contrasted in an extraordi¬ 
nary manner with a still higher degree of bigotry. 
“ I happened,” says the Baron liiesback, to stroll 
into a dark black country beer-house, filled with 
clouds of tobacco, and on entering I was almost stun¬ 
ned with the noise of the drinkers. By degrees, how¬ 
ever, my eyes penetrated through the thick vapours, 
when 1 discovered the priest of the place in the midst 
of fifteen or twenty drunken fellows. His black coat 
was as bad as the frocks of his flock, and like the 
rest of them he had cards in his left hand, which he 
struck so forcibly on the dirty tables, that the whole 
chamber trembled. At first, I was shocked at the 
violent abuse they gave each other, and thought they 
had been quarrelling, but soon found that the appella¬ 
tions which shocked me were only modes of friendly 
salutation among them. Every one had drunk his 
six or eight pots of beer, and they desired the land¬ 
lord to give each a dram of brandy, by way, they said 
of locking the stomach. But now their good hu¬ 
mour departed, and preparations were made for a 
fray which at length broke out. At first the priest 
took pains to suppress it; he swore, he roared as 
much as the rest. Now one seized a pot and threw 
it at his adversaries head ; another clenched his fist ,• 
a third pulled the legs from a stool to knock his en¬ 
emy on the head j every thing seemed to threaten 


German Anecdote. 139 

blood and death, when, on the ringing of a bell for 
evening prayer, “ Ave Marta ye —/” cried the priest, 
and down dropped their arms, they pulled off their 
bonnets, folded their hands, and repeated their A'oe 
Marias. As soon, however, as their prayers were 
over, their former fury returned with renewed vio¬ 
lence ; pots and glasses began to fly. I observed the 
curate creep under the table for security, and I with¬ 
drew into the landlord’s bed chamber.” 

A more pleasing fact relating to another part of the 
German empfre must not be forgotten; 

“ A lady, whose education had been much neglect¬ 
ed in her youth, and who had arrived at a very ripe 
age, without perceiving any inconvenience from the 
accident, had obtained a place at the court of Bruns¬ 
wick. She had not been long there, when she per¬ 
ceived that the conversation in the dutchess’s apart¬ 
ments frequently turned on subjects of which she 
was entirely ignorant, and that those ladies had most 
of her royal highness’s ear, who were best acquainted 
with books. She regretted, for the first time, the 
neglect of her own education, and although she had 
hitherto considered that kind of knowledge which is 
derived from reading as unbecoming a woman of 
quality, yet as it was now fashionable at court, she 
resolved to study hard that she might get to the top 
of the mode as fast as possible. 

“ She mentioned this resolution to the dutchess, de¬ 
siring at the same time that her highness would lend 
her a book to begin. The dutchess applauded her 
design, and sent her a German and French dictiona¬ 
ry as one of the most useful books. Some days after 
her highness enquired how she relished it. “ Infi- 
mtely,” replied the studious lady : “ it is the most 
delightful book I ever saw. The sentences are all 
short, and easily understood, and the letters charm¬ 
ingly arranged in ranks, like soldiers on the parade; 
whereas, in son^c books which I have seen, they are 


140 Gipsies in Germanyt 

mingled together in a confused manner, like a mere 
mob, so that it is no pleasure to look at them, and 
very difficult to know what they mean. But I am 
no longer surprised, added she, at the satisfaction 
your royal highness takes in study* 


DESCRIPTION OP THE GIPSIES IN GERMANY, AND 

OTHER PARTS OF EUROPE. 

Of their Family Economy* 

That these people are still the unpolished creatures 
that rude nature formed them, or at most have only 
advanced one degree towards humanity, is evinced 
by their family economy. 

Many of them are stationary, having regular habi¬ 
tations according to their situation in life. To this 
class belong those who keep public-houses in Spain, 
and others who follow some regular business in Tran¬ 
sylvania and Hungary. Many also are slaves to par¬ 
ticular persons in Moldavia and Wallachia, and of 
course do not wander about any more than the oth¬ 
ers. But the greater number of these people, lead a 
very different kind of life ; ignorant of the comforts 
attending a fixed place to live at, they roam about 
from one district to another in hords ; having no ha¬ 
bitation but tents, holes in rocks, or caves ; the for¬ 
mer shade them in summer, the latter screen them in 
winter. Many of these uncivilized people, particu¬ 
larly in Germany and Spain, do not even carry tents 
with them, but shelter themselves from the heat of 
the sun in forests, shaded by rocks, or behind hedges; 
they are partial to willows, under which they erect a 
sleeping place at the close of evening. In Hungary, 
even those who have given up their rambling way of 
life, and built themselves houses, seldom let a spring 
pass without taking advantage of the first settled 


Occupation^ £sPc. of the Spanish Gipsies, 141 
weather to set up a tent for summer residence; under 
this each enjoys himself with his family, nor thinks 
of his house till the winter returns, and the frost and 
snow drive him back to it again. 

When he can get it, the wandering gipsey, in Hun¬ 
gary and Transylvania, has a horse; in Turkey, an 
ass serves to carry his wife, a couple of his children, 
and his tent. When he arrives at any place that he 
likes, near a village or town, he unpacks, pitches his 
tent, ties his animal to a stake to graze, and remains 
there some weeks, unless he is driven away by the 
villagers who suspect him of having purloined geese, 
fowls, &c. 

From their winter huts, the air and day-light are 
completely excluded, they have indeed more tlie ap¬ 
pearance of wild beasts dens, than the habitations of 
intelligent beings. Rooms and separate apartments 
are not even thought of; all is one open space, in the 
middle of which is the fire, serving for the purpose of 
cooking and warming them ; the father and mother lie 
round it half naked, the children entirely so.' Chairs, 
tables, or bedsteads, find no place here ; they sit, eat, 
and sleep, on the bare ground, or at most spread an 
old blanket, or a sheep-skin, under them. Their fur¬ 
niture consists of an earthen pot, an iron pan, a spoon, 
a jug, and a knife ; when it so happens that every 
thing is complete, they sometimes add a dish, which 
serves the whole family. 

The women neither wash nor mend their clothes, 
nor clean their utensils ; they seldom bake ,* the whole 
of their business is reduced to these few articles ; 
dressing their food and eating it, smoking tobacco, 
prating, and sleeping. 

Such is the condition of the gipsies who wander 
about in Hungary, Turkey, and other countries, being 
no where, or rather every where, at home. The 
Spanish gipsies, who are innkeepers, have their houses 
like other people. The few who farm or breed cat- 
VOL. II. o 


142 Occupations^ ^c. of the Spanish Gipsies, 
tie have a plough and other instruments of agricul¬ 
ture. But the clothes and habitations even of these 
indicate great poverty. They are very fond of gold 
and silver plate, particularly cups, and will let no op¬ 
portunity slip of acquiring something of the kind ; 
they will even starve themselve to procure it. 

Of their Occupations and Employments, 

diPsiES abhor all kinds of laborious employments, 
and had rather suffer hunger and nakedness, than ex¬ 
ert themselves to procure food and raiment. They 
therefore choose some trade which is easily carried 
on, allowing them many idle hours, to pursue unlaw¬ 
ful courses. 

Black and white-smiths are the most usual trades 
among the gipsies ; in Hungary these occupations are 
so frequent among them, that it is a common pro¬ 
verb, “ So many gipsies, so many smiths.” In gene¬ 
ral they confine themselves to the manufacture of 
small articles, such as harps, rings, small nails, knives, 
seals, needles, and all kinds of tinker’s work. 

Their materials, tools, and apparatus, are all bad, 
and of the most inferior kind. The gipsey does not 
stand at his work, but sits cross-legged on the ground. 
His wife sits by him to work the bellows, in which 
operation she is sometimes relieved by the elder chil¬ 
dren. 

Another branch of commerce much followed by the 
gipsies is horse-dealing. In those parts of Hungary 
where the climate is so mild that horses may lie out 
the whole year, the gipsies avail themselves of this 
circumstance to breed as well as deal in horses, by 
which they sometimes grow rich. In this business they 
are universally celebrated for all sorts of roguery. 

They are likewise carpenters and turners, and go 
from village to village seeking employment. In Hun¬ 
gary gipsies are engaged as executioners and hang- 


Ckar%ter of the English, 143 

men. The women deal in old clothes, make and sell 
brooms, and dance for a living. Their character for 
fortune-telling is well known in every part of Europe ; 
many of them profess themselves adepts in the art of 
witchcraft, at least to cure those who have suffered 
by enchantments. 

Gold washing in the rivers is another occupation, 
by which many thousand gipsies procure a livelihood. 
The apparatus for this work is a crooked board, pro¬ 
vided with a wooden rim on each side ; over this they 
spread woollen cloths, and shake the gold sand, mix¬ 
ed with water upon it; the small grains remain stick¬ 
ing to the cloth, from which they separate them. 


GREAT BRITAIN. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF GREAT- 
BRITAIN. 

Character of the English, 

UNDER this article may be given Dr. Wende- 
born’s account of what he considered the remarkable 
features in the character of the English. By taking 
the description of the manners of our countrymen 
from the pen of a very inquisitive and discerning 
foreigner, we shall at least not be accused of partiali¬ 
ty towards our own habits and manners. The fol¬ 
lowing therefore is extracted and abridged from the 
frst volume of Dr, WendeborrCs Viezv of England^ 
toxvards the close of the eighteenth century. 

Of the love of their Country. 

There are certain features in the character of the 
English which are striking, and deserve to be men¬ 
tioned. One of the first, which may be looked upon 




144 Of the Love of their Country* 

as general, is national pride. All nations love their re¬ 
spective countries, but the English shew it in the high¬ 
est, and the Germans perhaps in the lowest degree. 
The great preference which an Englishman gives to his 
island is owing to the education that he has received, 
so different from that of other countries; to the diet and 
manners peculiar to his native soil: and, above all, be¬ 
cause he is told from his infancy, that England is su¬ 
perior to all countries, and that none are even com¬ 
parable to it. 

Justice to the English require it to be mentioned, 
that when they are abroad, they do not betray so 
much pride on account of their persons as they do 
because they are Britons. A sensible Englishman 
speaks of himself, his rank, and his dignity, with 
modesty ; but he talks of his country with pride and 
enthusiasm. From this high opinion which the Eng¬ 
lish entertain of their country, it may be explained 
why they adhere so steadily to their old customs and 
habits. Hence they think their constitution and gov¬ 
ernment the most perfect of all governments, and 
above all improvement. Hence the bulk of the peo¬ 
ple are fully persuaded, that nothing is so delicious 
and excellent as an enormous piece of beef half- 
roasted, and a plumb-pudding of ten pounds weight. 
Hence an Englishman will, during the severest weath¬ 
er, rather shiver at the side of a chimney which pro¬ 
duces clouds of ashes, and blackens the room, than 
make use of German stoves : for his ancestors styled 
a fire a sort of company ; they spoiled their eyes by 
looking thoughtfully at it, and he must do the same. 
In regard to changes of ministers of state, and of 
fashions of dress and furniture, the English are vari¬ 
able enough. 

From the high opinion which they entertain of 
themselves, it may be easily supposed that they look 
upon foreigners as much inferior. This fault in their 
national character was visible many centuries ago : 


Generosity^ £s?c. of the English, 145 

and though they pride themselves on the name of 
Britons, which they bear in common with the Scots, 
yet they are rather more averse from them than even 
from a foreigner ; nof do the Irish seem to be much 
more in favour, for an Irish fortune-hunter is a com¬ 
mon phrase in England, and the character is not un- 
frequently ridiculed on the stage. Even among the 
English a kind of reserve is visible; for the Episco¬ 
palians look upon the Dissenters in an inferior light, 
and the different sects keep at a distance from each 
other. 

Of the Generosity and Humanity of the English, 

A GENEROUS disposition is said to be one of the 
traits of the English character; and I think justly. It 
is likewise true, that they are much inclined to make 
known their acts of generosity, and to preserve the 
memory of their good deeds. The exertions of hu¬ 
manity and compassion are among the English fre¬ 
quently sudden and very strong. Great indulgence 
is shown to human faults and imbecilities, because 
hypocrisy and arrogant assumption are not so com¬ 
mon here, and every body seems to know and to feel 
what man is. Yet there are despicable characters 
enough, who laugh at the dictates of humanity, and 
seem to be destitute of liberal and generous senti¬ 
ments ; but the majority of the nation are against 
them, and treat with contempt and detestation those 
who appear to be devoid of the feelings of humanity. 
The conduct of the English in India, and the poor 
inhabitants of that country, oppressed, plundered, and 
even sacrificed to avarice, will never add to their 
fame for liberal and humane dispositions. Many 
bailiffs, who arrest debtors, many attornies, many 
overseers of the poor, many clergymen, when they 
collect their tithes and income, seem to have human¬ 
ity and generosity no more in the catalogue of their 

o 2 


146 Sincerity and Prankness 

virtues, than the members of the holy inquisition have 
in theirs. A modern German writer praises the Eng¬ 
lish highly on account of their humane treatment of 
the brute creation ; but whoever has seen the driving 
of cattle to the London markets, the usage of poor 
horses in carts, before post-chaises and hackney- 
coaches, the riding of them at horse-races, and 
on the public roads; whoever has been a spectator 
at cock-fightings, bull-baitings, and similar exhibi¬ 
tions ; will certainly hesitate a long time before he 
pronounces encomiums on English generosity towards 
the brute creation. 

The liberality of the nation however is worthy of 
admiration. Subscriptions towards the support of 
the poor and necessitous are no where more common, 
nor more liberal, than in England. Hospitals of eve¬ 
ry kind, charity schools, dispensaries, and such mon¬ 
uments as witness the noblest feelings of humanity, 
are no where more frequent than here. Neverthe¬ 
less, in no country are more poor to be seen than in 
England, and in no city a greater number of beggars 
than in London. The fault seems manifestly to be in 
the disposal of the money collected for the poor, and 
in the regulations made for the maintenance of them. 

Of the sincerity and Frankiiess of the English, 

Sincerity and honesty are also reckoned traits in 
the English character. Few assertions are so gene¬ 
ral as not to admit of exceptions ; and, therefore, 
numbers of impostors and bad people are to be found 
in England, as well as in other countries, but the 
bulk of the nation is good and honest, and not given 
to deceit. The spirit of the laws and constitution 
may be adduced as a proof. The wealth of a per¬ 
son will avail but little in a court of justice, even if 
the plantifF were a poor man ; on the contrary, a good 
private character of a person accused will be of great 


of the English, 147 

service, if the case be in the least doubtful. No peo¬ 
ple shew more indulgence and lenity to those who 
are guilty of human failings, or have committed trans¬ 
gressions, than the English. There are none that 
treat the unfortunate with more compassion, and act 
according to the saying of Seneca, “ that the unfortu¬ 
nate are sacred objects,'*'* The manners of true Eng¬ 
lishmen, and their conversation mark their sincerity 
and upright intentions. They are not so full of 
compliments, and protestations of friendship towards 
strangers, as is common among some other nations; 
but they are by no means so rude, uncivil, or like the 
character of a John Bull, as it is absurdly represent¬ 
ed abroad and on the French stage. The reserved and 
grave behaviour which they manifest at the com¬ 
mencement of a new acquaintance will serve as a 
pledge, and convince him that their subsequent more 
open and more cordial way of conversing does not 
arise from hypocrisy, but from sincerity of heart. 
Although there be many exceptions, yet the generali¬ 
ty of the nation is good and honest, and yields in this 
respect to no nation whatever ; nay, I am almost in¬ 
clined to say it is superior to any. 

Frankness is likewise a characteristic of English 
manners. In many countries, even thoughts are not 
free; and a person suspected of heresy, either in 
matters of state or religion, cannot always escape 
persecution. In England, thank heaven ! not only 
the thoughts, but even the tongue, the pen, and the 
press, are free. An Englishman has no reason to be 
a hypocrite ; he may speak as he thinks, and act as it 
appears to him just and proper. Since neither edu¬ 
cation, nor laws and constitution, form him for a 
slave, he exhibits himself as a free man, partly from 
habit, and partly because he has no reason to be 
afraid, so long as he conforms to the laws of the 
country. The number of newspapers, which are 
printed daily, and the freedom which is so predomi- 


Ii8 Courage^ and Frequency of Suicide^ 
nant in them, shew the character of the nation, in this 
respect, in a striking light: and I am confident the 
advantage of the liberty of the press greatly out¬ 
weighs the abuses to which it is sometimes liable. 
The whole public is here made the tribunal, at whose 
bar judgment is given ; every man may be heard, and 
every man is free to justify his conduct, or clear his 
character. If in all countries such heralds were to be 
found, whose loud and dread voice could awaken 
shame and fear, if the common people were, every 
where, as eager to read public papers, conducted in 
the manner as in England, tyranny and insolence, 
superstition and oppression, would soon be banished, 
and people who could read, and had learnt to ex¬ 
press their thoughts in writing, would soon cease to 
be slaves. 

Goldsmith, speaking of Briton, says. 

Stern o'er each bosom reason holds her state, 

With daring aims irregularly great; 

Pride in their port, defiance in their eye, 

1 see the lords of human kind pass by, 

Intent on high designs, a thoughtful band. 

By forms unfashion’d, fresh from Nature’s hand ; 

Fierce in their native hardiness of soul. 

True to imagin’d right, above controul. 

While e’en the peasant boasts this right to scan, 

And learns to venerate himself as man. 


Of the Courage, and Frequency of Suicide among the 
English, 

Courage marks the English character, and though 
they have this in common with other nations, yet 
they seem to maintain a superiority in being the least 
fearful of death. Battles fought by the English, by 
land and by sea, afford sufficient proof of this asser¬ 
tion ; and instances of British courage would be more 
numerous, if naval and military promotions were not 
bought nor obtained by interest, but bestowed accord¬ 
ing to merit. Among those who suffer for capital 


among' the English* 149 

crimes, many examples of contempt of death are to 
be met with. The old and infirm, when they see dis¬ 
solution almost before their eyes, will talk of it with 
great composure ; as if they possessed a soul, which, 
far from being terrified by death, reckons the mo¬ 
ment of its dissolution among the gifts of heaven. 

Whether suicide may be considered as an act of 
courage, I will not discuss : it is always unnatural; 
and men who do not live in a state of civil society, 
will never be guilty of it. Various causes have been 
assigned, to account for this propensity of the Eng¬ 
lish to suicide. Sometimes the blame is laid upon 
the climate; sometimes upon the melancholy dispo¬ 
sition peculiar to them; and sometimes upon their 
eating too much animal food : but I believe it to be 
a natural consequence of that education which pre¬ 
vails in this country. The passions of the young are 
but little controuled, much less subdued; and, in years 
of maturity, when they cannot be gratified in their 
vehemence, they will sometimes produce that fatal 
resolution, to finish a disagreeable life by violent 
means ; which frequently happen, because religion, 
the support of the unhappy in adversity, is too often 
totally neglected. The quakers in England are plain 
proof of the truth of the opinion here advanced : for 
they have the same climate and diet as the rest of the 
English; yet, probably, on account of a better edu¬ 
cation, suicide is never or very rarely heard of among 
them. Whoever has learned to conquer himself, will 
never, either through despair, or disappointment and 
adversity, shorten his days by his own hands. 

It is the laudable custom in England, that no body 
is interred before proper inquiry be made about the 
death, whether it was natural or unnatural. In case 
of suicide, the coroner’s inquest sits on the body, to 
decide the question, whether the person who com¬ 
mitted the act was, at the time when the deed was 
performed, insane, or not. The verdict is generally 


150 Industry and Desire of being Rich^ 
given in favour of the former, though it is nine times 
out of ten well known, that the deceased was in full 
possession of his senses, and knew very well what he 
was about when he destroyed himself. Should the 
coroner’s inquest bring in a verdict of felo de se^ the 
goods and personal property of the decceased are for¬ 
feited to the king, and the body receives an ignomini¬ 
ous burial on the highway, when a stake is to be driv¬ 
en through the heart. This is, however, seldom 
done, and whenever it takes place, it falls upon poor 
people; the friends of those who are in better cir¬ 
cumstances, who have committed suicide, know how 
to avoid an unfavourable verdict. Indeed, if this 
sort of punishment were to take place in all cases, in 
which, according to law, it should, there would be no 
end to such exhibitions. 

Though the inhabitants of England are addicted to 
melancholy and gloominess, yet they are much the 
friends to pleasure, and they have a proverb, “ A short 
life and a merry one,” which many to their detriment 
put in practice. No people on earth have more rea¬ 
son to be satisfied with their lot than the English, 
hvX fortunatos si sua bona norint I thousands of them 
do not know it, or are not inclined to believe it. 
Many ramble over the whole globe in pursuit of hap¬ 
piness and ease of mind; but they are soon convinc¬ 
ed, when they are remote from their own island, that 
they had better have remained at home, to enjoy what 
they in vain have sought for in foreign countries. 

Of Industry^ and the Desire of being Rich among 
the English, 

Whether active industry be a characteristic of 
the English nation may be doubted ; but those who 
must, and who have a mind to work, do it w:th spirit 
and assiduity ; the majority are evidently inclined to 
live in ease and indolence. No people are more fond 


among the English, I 5 l 

of holidays than their workmen and apprentices; 
they would, probably, sooner admit of despotical 
laws, than be deprived of their stated seasons for 
idleness, drunkenness, and debauchery. The streets 
of London are continually crowded with people, who 
appear to have the most weighty concerns on their 
minds. On the roads, all is motion and activity; 
though few, perhaps, are engaged in any profitable 
business. Even the stage'coaches are continually 
crowded with passengers; most of whom travel to 
be absent from home, to endeavour to get rid of ill- 
humour, and to go out of town, that they may have 
an opportunity of returning to it again. In short, 
there seems to be a great degree of restlessness among 
the English, though labour is not what pleases many. 
Those who must work, do it in hopes of living at 
last in indolence ; and of enjoying, as it is called, life, 
though their increased years tell them that they are 
then too old for it* 

To this desire of getting rich as soon as possible 
, may be ascribed that spirit of gaming, which is more 
i predominant among the English than among any 
other nation. Hence that madness which takes pos- 
j session of the London populacti during the drawing 
f of the state-lotteries; the tricks which are daily 
played to raise or lower the public funds ; and that 
willingness to lay wagers on subjects of the smallest 
consequence. 

An extreme degree of turiosity and great credu¬ 
lity are likewise traits in the English character. In 
proof of this assertion, Mr. W. mentions the story 
of the Cock-lane ghost, and that of the bottle con • 
jurer, acknowledging that it is probable the people 
who assembled on the last occasion, was not so much 
because they expected a man to creep into a quart 
bottle, as with a desire of knowing how the impostor 
would extricate himself from the resentment of the 
crowd. To the credulity of the English he ascribes 



152 Character^ MannerSy 

the success of quack doctors, and their infallible me¬ 
dicines for the cure of all disorders ,* and the great 
number of religious sects which are continually start¬ 
ing up, disseminating doctrines, which, however, re¬ 
volting to common sense, find people zealous in 
adopting and propagating them. 


IRELAND. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE COMMON IRISH. 

THERE are three races of people in Ireland, 
which are, 1. The Spanish found in Kerry, and a 
part of Limerick and Cork ; these are tall and thin, 
but well made ; a long visage, dark eyes, and long 
black lank hair. In the time of Elizabeth, the 
Spaniards had a settlement on the coast of Kerry ; 
and the Island of Valencia derives its name from 
Spanish origin. 2. The Scotch race in the North are 
distinguished by features, accent, and many customs, 
which mark the North Britons. 3. In a district near 
Dublin, and in the county of Wexford, the Saxon 
tongue is spoken without any mixture of the Irish, 
and the people have a variety of customs which dis¬ 
tinguish them from their neighbours. The rest of 
the kingdom is, according to Mr. Arthur Young, 
made up of mongrels. The Milesian race of Irish, 
which may be called native, is scattered over the 
kingdom, but chiefly found in Connaught and Mun¬ 
ster. 

The only division which a traveller would be like¬ 
ly to make of the people of Ireland must be, into 
those of considerable fortune, and those without any 
political consequence. But to a resident in that 
kingdom, another, and a very considerable class, 
would present itself, viz* Those of small fortune, and 



of the common Irish. 15a 

renters of land. The manners, habits, and customs 
of the people of large property are much the same 
every where; between those in England and Ireland 
there is very little difference. To the common peo¬ 
ple we must look, for distinguishing traits of national 
character. 

The common Irish are cheerful and lively; lazy, at 
work i but so spiritedly active at play, that at hurling, 
which is the cricket of the savages, they exhibit the 
greatest feats of agility. Their love of society is as 
remarkable, as their curiosity is insatiable ; and their 
hospitality to all visitors, be their own poverty ever 
80 pinching, has too much merit to be forgotten,— 
Warm friends, and revengeful enemies, they are in¬ 
violable in their secrecy, and implacable in their re¬ 
sentment ; with such a notion of honour, that neither 
threats nor rewards would induce them to betray the 
secret or person of a man, though an oppressor, whose 
property they would plunder without ceremony.— 
They are hard drinkers, and quarrelsome ; great li = 
ars, but civil, submissive, and obedient. 

Dancing is almost universal in every cabin ; for 
such is the name given to their cottages. Dancing- 
masters, of their own rank, travel through the coun¬ 
try, from cabin to cabin, with a piper, or blind fidler, 
and their pay is sixpence a quarter. It is, with the 
Irish a system of education. Weddings are always 
celebrated with much dancing ; and a Sunday rarely 
passes without a dance ; there are a few among them, 
who will not, after a hard day’s work, gladly walk 
seven miles to a dance. Besides this, the children of 
the poorest families are taught to read, write, and cast 
accounts. There is a very ancient custom here, for a 
number of country neighbours among the poor peo¬ 
ple to fix upon some young woman, that ought as 
they think to be married ; and they agree, also, upon 
a young fellow as a husband ; this being determined, 
they send to the fair one’s cabin to inform her, that on 

VOL. IT. P 



154 Character-, Manners., 

the Sunday following she is to be horsed, that is, car¬ 
ried on men’s backs. She must then provide whis¬ 
key and cider for a treat, as all will pay her a visit, 
after mass, for a hurling match. As soon as she is 
horsed, the hurling begins, in which the young fellow, 
appointed for her husband, has the eyes of the compa¬ 
ny fixed on him ; if he come oflF conqueror, he is cer¬ 
tainly married to the girl; but if another is victori¬ 
ous, she is the prize of the victor. These trials are 
not always finished on one Sunday ; they take some¬ 
times two or three and the common expression, 
when the contest is over, is, that such a girl goaled. 
Sometimes one baronv hurls against another, but a 
marriageable young woman is always the prize.— 
Hurling is a sort of cricket; but, instead of throwing 
the ball to knock down the wicket, the aim is to pass 
it through a bent stick, the ends of which are stuck 
into the ground. 

The common people of Ireland are, in general, 
clothed very indifferently ; till within these few years 
shoes and stockings were scarcely ever found on chil¬ 
dren of either sex ; they are now more solicitous to 
clothe, than to feed their young. Their cabins are 
the most miserable hovels that can well be imagined; 
they consist of but one room, six or seven feet high, 
having a door which serves to let in the light. The 
smoke from their fires they choose to confine in the 
house, as it serves to keep them warm, though it is 
very injurious to their eyes; and by it the complex¬ 
ions of the women very much resemble the colour of 
smoked ham. 

The roofs of the cabins are rafters, raised upon the 
tops of mud walls, and the covering is sometimes 
straw, sometimes potatoe stalks, and sometimes sods 
of turf, which frequently give them the appeartmee of 
a dung-hill, out of which weeds grow; and it often 
happens that when the roof is supported by the banks 
of a broad dry ditch, that the pigs are feeding at the 


of the common Irish, 155 

top of the house, in which the inhabitants are regal¬ 
ing themselves within. The furniture of many of 
these cabins consists only of a pot for boiling their 
potatoes, a bit of a table, and one or two broken 
stools s beds are not found universally ; the family 
are often seen herding together with their cows and 
pigs, on the same straw. This is the general de¬ 
scription, but the exceptions are very numerous, in 
which the cabins of Ireland are as well adapted to the 
wants of the inhabitants, as the cottages in England, 

It is said however that, the apparent poverty of the 
common Irish is greater than the real, for the house 
of a man possessing four or five cows is often no bet¬ 
ter furnished than that of the poorest labourer. In 
England, a man’s cottage will be adorned with super¬ 
fluities, before he possess a cow; but, in Ireland, the 
house and furniture are objects of no consideration; 
the possession of a cow and pig is of the first conse¬ 
quence. Marriage is much more-common in Ireland 
than here; Mr. Young says^ he scarcely remembers 
having seen a farmer, or cottager, unmarried ; and 
what is very rare in England is common there, the 
servants of all descriptions in gentlemen’s families are 
most all married people. Children there are not bur- 
thensome; the happiness and ease of the parent are 
generally estimated by the number of his children, and 
there is no greater misfortune than to be without any. 

The food of the people being potatoes, which are 
easily raised, the Irish poor are well fed ; and milk 
being so common in the cabins, their infants are easily 
reared. 

Near Castlerea, lives O’Connor, who claims to be 
a direct descendant of Roderick O’Connor, who was 
king of Connaught 700 years ago. The common 
people pay him great attention, and send him many 
presents; they consider him as a prince of a people 
involved in one common ruin. Macdermot, the head 
of another great family, styles himself prince of Co- 



156 Persons and Dispositions of the Danes, 
lavin; and though he has not more than 100/ per 
annum, will not admit his children to sit down in his 
presence. 


DENMARK. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 

CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF DENMARK. 

Of their Persons and Dispositions. 

THE natives of Denmak are, in general, fall, and 
well made ; their features are regular, their complex¬ 
ions florid, and their hair inclining to yellow and red. 
In their dispositions they are characterized as being 
brave, courteous, and humane. The superior classes 
possess abundance of spirit and vivacity, and are na¬ 
turally fond of magnificence and show, yet so as not 
to exceed their incomes. The French fashions are 
generally adopted by both sexes in summer; but in 
winter they have recourse to their furs and woolly 
garments. Even the peasants have a neatness in 
their dress, which seems to exceed their condition.— 
They make good soldiers and sailors, and fill the va¬ 
rious relations in life with respectability. 

Every sea*faring man is obliged once in his life, to 
serve his king six years, when called upon; and for 
that purpose is registered. The fleet is thus easily 
manned, on any emergency ; and though, in time of 
peace, many of these registered seamen may be ab¬ 
sent, by furlough from their officers, yet there has 
hardly been a crisis known, when it was necessary 
to have recourse to any other method of raising 
men. 

Marriages in Denmark are often contracted seve¬ 
ral years before the parties live together. The gentry 




Domestic Habits of the Danes* 157 

sometimes give portions with their daughters, but the 
burghers, and those of lower rank, part only with 
clothes household goods, and a wedding dinner till 
death. 

The nobility perform the rights of sepulture with 
the most splendid parade ; and sometimes the corpse 
of a person of quality is kept uninterred, for several 
years together, till they can celebrate the funeral with 
sufficient ostentation. The common people are, how¬ 
ever, buried without much ceremony, in large, thick 
chests; and in towns there are common mourners be¬ 
longing to each parish, whose office it is to attend the 
dead to their graves. 

In the metropolis, the lowest mechanic has the pri¬ 
vilege of wearing a sword,- which is assumed as a 
badge of gentility by the most indigent plebeians ; 
but in other parts of the kingdom, the gentry are 
only permitted to exhibit this unnecessary appendage 
of dress. 

A drunken Dane is proverbial; but this may be 
applied with equal justice to all the nations of the 
Danish stock : the English, the Scots, the Norwegi¬ 
ans and Swedes. 

The Danes, like the Norwegians, are fond of danc¬ 
ing to the music of the violin. Bands of itinerant 
Germans supply them with all sorts of harmonies. 
The great people, in all countries, have now nearly 
the same customs ; to the common and middling 
people we must look for a national character. The 
Danes are not the most cleanly in their persons and 
houses, which is owing as much to the use of their 
stoves, as to their poverty. The cold of winter 
makes them exclude the fresh air as much as possible 
from their apartments ; and, what appears ridiculous 
to strangers, many of them, even during their hot 
summers, wear great-coats, &c. Indeed, both Swedes 
and Norwegians have the same customs, notwith¬ 
standing the latter affect, in some instances, to set 

p 2 


158 Character of the Norwegians, 

the cold at defiance ; perhaps the other custom is by 

way of bidding an equal defiance to heat. 

The Danish Ladies are not remarkable for their 
beauty. It must be from the Saxon females, that the 
most considerable part of our fair countrymen inherit 
their charms. 

The Danish houses are generally built of timber; 
their flat islands have few rocks, and it is only their 
cities which have any considerable proportion of brick 
houses; each house has a kind of piazza before it, 
where the family often sit in summer, and the land¬ 
lord smokes his pipe. 

The Norwegians, notwithstanding their country is 
almost wholly composed of rock, still persist in 
building their habitations of timber, which they say 
renders them warmer than those of stone. The fre¬ 
quent destructive fires should teach them the impro¬ 
priety and danger of this obstinacy. Even their prin¬ 
ces are generally burnt out once a year from one or 
other of their palaces, and whole towns are often con¬ 
sumed in the same blaze. 

The Danish watchmen, as they go their rounds at 
bed time, address a prayer to Almighty God, to pre¬ 
serve the city from fire; and warn the inhabitants to 
be careful in extinguishing their candles and lights. 


NORWAY. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE PEASANTRY OF NORWAY. 

THE Norwegians being the same race with the 
Danes, and so long connected with them in religion 
and government, speak the same language, with a ne¬ 
cessary mixture of provincial expressions. In some 
of the principal towns of Norway, the gentry and 





Of the Norway Law* 159 

other respectable inhabitants, speak purer Danish 
than is usual even in Denmark, not excepting Copen¬ 
hagen. The inhabitants of the eastern confines bor¬ 
dering on Sweden, naturally blend many Swedish 
words and phrases, and the general accent and ca¬ 
dence through the whole country are more analagous 
to the Swedish than the Danish pronunciation ; but 
the people on the western coasts, who have a more 
constant communication with the Danes, partake less 
of this peculiarity. 

The Norwegians maintain their own army; the 
troops are highly esteemed for their bravery ; and, 
like the Swiss mountaineers, are exceedingly attached 
to their country. The horses, which supply the ca¬ 
valry, are small, but strong, active and hardy. 

Every peasant, (those excepted who inhabit the 
coasts, and are sailors) not born in a town, or upon 
some noble estate, is by birth a soldier, and enrolled 
for service at the age of sixteen. From that year 
till he has attained the age of twenty six, he is class¬ 
ed in the young militia. At twenty-six he enters the 
old militia, and continues to serve till thirty-six, at 
which period he receives his discharge. The militia 
take the field in the month of June, and remain en¬ 
camped about a month. 

Norway is blessed with a particular law, called the 
Norway Law; by this palladium the peasants are free, 
a few only excepted, on certain noble estates near 
Frederickstadt. But the virtue of this law extends 
even to those serfs, for no proprietor can have more 
than one of those privileged estates, and unless he 
possesses a title of a certain rank, and reside on his 
estate, he loses his privilege, and the peasants are free. 

The benefits of the Norway code are so visible in 
its general effects on the happiness and in the appear¬ 
ance of the peasants, that a traveller must be blind, 
who does not instantly perceive the difference between 
the free peasants and the enslaved vassals of Deij- 


160 Peculiar Customs of the Norwegians. 
mark, though both live under the same government. 
—Many of the peasants pr^end to be descended from 
the ancient nobles, and some even from the royal line ; 
they greatly pride themselves upon this supposed de¬ 
scent, and are careful not to give their children in 
marriage but to their equals in birth and blood. 

A curious custom prevails in Norway, called OdeVs 
rights or right of inheritance, by which the proprie¬ 
tor of certain freehold estates may re-purchase any 
which either he, or his ancestors, have sold, provided 
he can prove the title of his family. But, in order to 
enforce the claim, his ancestors or he must have de¬ 
clared every tenth year, at the sessions, that they lay 
claim to the estate, but that they want money to re¬ 
deem it; and if he, or his heirs, are able to pay a 
sufficient sum, then the possessor must, on receiving 
the money, give up the estate to the odel's man.— 
For this reason, the peasants who are freeholders, 
keep a strict account of their pedigree. This custom 
is attended with advantages and disadvantages. In 
regard to the advantages, it fixes the affections of 
the peasant on his native place, and he improves, 
with pleasure, those possessions which are so strongly 
secured to him ; it increases the consequence and ex¬ 
cites the industry of his family. On the contrary, 
the estate loses value, when sold to another person, 
because as he only possesses a precarious title, he is 
not inclined to improve the lands as if they were ir¬ 
recoverably his own. 

The Norwegian peasants possess much spirit and fire 
in their manner ; they are frank, open, and undaunted 
yet not insolent ; never frowning to their superiors, 
yet paying proper respect to those above them. Their 
principal mode of salutation is by offering the hand ; 
and, when any thing is given or paid them, the peas¬ 
ants instead of returning thanks by a word or by a 
bow, shake the hands of the donor with frankness and 
great^cordiality. 


Character of the Swedes. 161 

The peasants of Norway are well clothed, and ap¬ 
pear to possess more comforts and conveniences of 
life than the same class of people in almost any coun¬ 
try, excepting, perhaps, those of some parts of Swit¬ 
zerland. 

The common food of the peasant is milk, cheese, 
dried or salted fish, and sometimes, though but rare¬ 
ly, flesh or dried meat, oat-bread, called Jiadbrod, 
baked in small cakes, about the size and thickness of 
a pancake, which is made twice a year. The women 
prepare it in the following manner; having placed 
over the fire a round iron plate, they take a handful 
of dough, and roll it out the size of the plate, on 
which it is put, and baked on one side, and then turn¬ 
ed on the other with a small,stick. In this manner 
they bake a great many in a very short time ; in a 
single day one woman will bake sufficient for a large 
family during a whole year. The peasants also, in 
times of scarcity, mix the bark of trees, usually that 
of the fir tree, with their oatmeal; they dry this bark 
before the fire, grind it to powder, mix it with oat¬ 
meal, then bake it, and eat it like bread ; it is bitter, 
and is said to afford but little nourishment. As a 
luxury the peasants eat sharke, or thin slices of meat 
sprinkled with salt, and dried in the wind, like hung- 
beef ; also a soup made like hasty-pudding of oat¬ 
meal or barleymeal, and in order to render it more 
palatable, they put in a pickled herring or salted 
mackerel. 


SWEDEN. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF SWEDEN. 

THOUGH Sweden is covered with rocks, woods, 
and mountains, its inhabitants are peaceable. Theft, 




162 DresSy tfc. of the Swedes. 

murder, and atrocious crimes, are very uncommon 
among them; even in war they do not appear to be 
sanguinary. Naturally serious and grave, they are 
acquainted with and cultivate the valuable bonds of 
sociability. Under a simple external appearance 
they conceal a profound judgment, an acute and deli¬ 
cate genius, and often an active and intrepid spirit. 
They are fond of travelling, but love their country, 
and long to see it again. They support poverty with 
patience, but riches are often their ruin. There are 
some cantons in Sweden, where the manners of the 
people are truly patriarchal, and display the utmost 
purity, innocence, and candour. Ye travellers, en¬ 
dowed with feeling and upwright hearts, hasten to 
behold this interesting spectacle ; it is superior to 
that exhibited by the wonders of art, and the monu¬ 
ments of pomp and luxury ! But delay not; corrup¬ 
tion already begins to diffuse her destructive breath. 
Pernicious maxims, a taste for frivolous objects, and 
the desire of imitating other nations, will insensibly 
produce changes, which every virtuous citizen must 
lament. 

Of the Dress and Festivals of the Swedes. 

The Swedes are distinguished from other Euro¬ 
pean people by a national dress established in 1777y 
with the design of repressing luxury in the article of 
clothes. The men wear a close coat, very wide 
breeches, strings in their shoes, a girdle, a round hat, 
and a cloak. The usual colour is black. The wo¬ 
men wear a black robe, with puffed gauze sleeves, a 
coloured sash, and ribands. There is also a particu¬ 
lar uniform for gala days, when the men appear in 
blue satin, lined with white, and ornamented with 
lace; the women in a white satin robe, with colour¬ 
ed sashes and ribands. The first day of Mav and 
Midsummer are in Sweden consecrated to mirth and 
joy. On the former, large fires, announcing the na- 


Houses^ Foodj £ifc. of the Swedes. 163 
tural warmth about to succeed the severity of the 
winter, are kindled in the fields ; around these people 
assemble, while others go to enjoy good cheer, and 
to banish care and sorrow. Midsummer-day is still 
better calculated to inspire mirth and festivity ; on 
the evening before this happy period, the people as¬ 
semble, the houses are ornamented with boughs, and 
the young men and women erect a pole around which 
they dance till morning. Having recruited their 
strength by some hours repose, they repair to church, 
and, after imploring the protection of the Supreme 
Being, they again give themselves up to fresh effu¬ 
sions of joy. During these two festivals, the people 
display all their gaiety by dances and songs, the great¬ 
er part of which are national, and partake somewhat 
of the climate. The inhabitants of the southern 
provinces endeavour to provide places of shelter 
from the heat; and those of the north employ all their 
ingenuity to preserve themselves from cold. 

Of their HousesFood^ and modes of Travelling. 

The greater part of the houses are built of^wood, 
which, when properly constructed, and kept in repair, 
are said to be warmer than those built of brick or 
stone. The seams of the windows are daubed over 
with pitch or cement, and double ones are sometimes 
employed. The stoves are constructed with twisted 
tubes, so as to make the heat circulate; and they 
have a contrivance to rarify or condense the air at 
pleasure. Wood is not dear in Sweden, and little care 
is employed to save it. The price of provisions is 
equally moderate. The lower classes of people live 
principally upon hard bread, salted or dried fish, and 
water-gruel; beer is their ordinary beverage, and 
they can procure it exceedingly cheap. At the tables 
of the opulent, there is always plenty^ of meat, and 
the repast is preceded by a kind of collation, consist- 



164 Modes of 7 ravelling among the Swedes, 
ing of butter, cheese, salt provisions, and strong li¬ 
quors. Strangers are astonished to see women swal¬ 
low large quantities of these liquors, and with the 
same ease as the men. The consumption of wine is 
very great in Sweden, but people seldom drink to 
excess. 

A person cannot travel in Sweden, without being 
struck with the arrangements which administration 
have formed for the convenience of travelling. The 
peasants furnish horses at a certain price per mile. 
At each post a number is always kept in readiness, 
and he who procures the horses presents the travel¬ 
ler with a book, in which he inserts the time of his 
arrival, his name and quality, the place from which 
he came, and that to which he is going, the number 
of horses he has employed, and the manner in which 
he has been served. At the end of every month this 
book is transmitted to the territorial judge. The 
horses are small, and make little shew, but they go 
very fast, especially in winter. The sledge may be 
said to cleave the air ; it passes over lakes covered 
with ice and snow, and a person is at his journey’s 
end long before he is tiware of it. If the peasants 
are treated with mildness, they will do any thing that 
is desired of them; it is only near the capital that 
they are self-interested and unruly. 

Such are the principal outlines of the picture ex¬ 
hibited, in general, by the character and manners of 
the Swedes. By examining each province in partic¬ 
ular, there will be found various shades of a deeper 
or lighter cast. The Scandian^ who cultivates a fertile 
soil, and who possesses a moderate share of wealth, 
is sensible of his happiness, and imparts it to others. 
The Smolander^ his neighbour, placed amidst barren 
rocks and melancholy woods, is humble, mild and sub¬ 
missive ; the smallest reward will satisfy him, and he 
testifies his gratitude in the most simple and affecting 
manner. The Westrogoth is well acquainted with 


Cruelty> punished iur Finland,- 166 

the resources of industry, and puts them in practice; 
above all, he understands every kind of traffic^ The 
Ostrogoth has nothing against him but his name f he 
is distinguished by his politeness, affability, and the 
eas^iness of his manners; he resembles that nature' 
with which he is surrounded, and which every where 
presents itself under the most pleasing aspect. The 
vicinity of the capital gives to the Sudermanian and 
the Uplander a double physiognomy, the natural fea¬ 
tures of which have been disfigured. The Westma- 
nian prepossesses, by a noble figure, a firmness and 
steadiness of character, and simple, but mild manners. 
The inhabitant of that district called Norland is very 
tall, has an intrepid look ; frankness and loyalty 
are painted in the countenance. The inhabitant of 
Finland is honest, laborious and capable of enduring 
great hardships ; but he is sometimes reproached with 
being stiff and obstinate. The Dalecarlians accustom 
themselves to the severest labours, and fear no fatigue. 
Iiike the rocks which surround them, they brave every 
attack, detest slavery, resist oppression under all its 
forms, and, attached to their own manners and cus¬ 
toms, they transmit them unchanged from generation 
to generation. 

The amusements and vices of Stockholm, the capital 
of Sweden, resemble very much those of other Euro¬ 
pean cities; but its police is highly respectable; watch¬ 
men call the hours of night, and during the whole pe¬ 
riod of darkness, the streets resound with the follow¬ 
ing words ; “ May the good and all- powerful arm of 
God preserve our city from fire and flames.” The 
hours are announced from the tops of towers by a 
melancholy sounding instrument. 

At Abo, in Finland, a dog that had been run over 
by a carriage crawled to the door of a tanner in that 
town ; the man’s son, a lad of fifteen years of age, 
first stoned, and then poured a vessel of boiling water 
upon the miserable animal. This act of diabolical 
VOL. II. Q. 



166 Persons^ ^c, of the Russians, 

cruelty was witnessed by one of the magistrates, who 
informed his brethren of the fact. They unanimously 
agreed in condemning the boy to punishment. He 
was imprisoned till the following market-day; then, 
in the presence of the people, he was conducted to the 
place of execution by an officer of justice, who read 
to him his sentence. “ Inhuman young man ! because 
you did not assist the animal that implored your aid 
by its cries, and who derives being from the same 
God who gave you life ; because you added to the 
tortures of the agonizing beast, and murdered it, the 
council of this city have sentenced you to wear on 
your breast the name you deserve, and to receive 
fifty stripes.” He then hung a black board round 
his neck with this inscription, “ A savage and inhu¬ 
man young man !” and, after inflicting upon him twen¬ 
ty-five stripes, he proceeded : “ Inhuman young man ! 
you have now felt a very small degree of the pain 
with which you tortured a helpless animal in its hour 
of death. As you wish for mercy from that God who 
created all that live, learn humanity for the future.” 
He then executed the remainder of the sentence. 


RUSSIA. 

IJESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS, OF THE INHABITANTS OF RUSSIA. 

Of their Persons and Dresses. 

THE Russians are, in general, hardy, vigorous, 
and patient of labour, especially in the field, to an in¬ 
credible degree. Their complexions differ little from 
those of the English and Scots, but the women use a 
sort of rouge to heighten their beauty. Their eye¬ 
sight seems to be defective, occasioned piobably by 




Employment^ £s?c. of the Russians. 167 
the snow, which for a great part of the year is con¬ 
tinually on the ground. 

The Russian peasants are a coarse, hardy race, and 
of great bodily strength. Their dress is a round hat 
or cap with a high crown, a coarse robe of drugget, 
or in winter of sheep-skin with the wool turned in¬ 
wards, reaching to the knee, and bound round the 
waist by a sash, trowsers of linen almost as thick as 
sackcloth, a woollen and flannel cloth wrapped round 
the leg instead of stockings, sandals woven from 
strips of pliant bark, and fastened by strings of the 
same materials, which are twined round the leg, and 
serve as garters to the wrappers. In warm weather 
the peasants frequently wear only a short coarse shirt 
and trowsers. 

Among the higher ranks in society, the dress of 
the men consists of a pelisse, or large fur cloak, fur 
boots or shoes, a black velvet or fur bonnet, which is 
made large enough to cover their ears, and prevent 
the frost from nipping them. All, whether rich or 
poor, wear their lank hair combed straight without 
powder, and let their beards grow. The women are 
not so well protected by their dress from the inclem¬ 
ency of the climate; but their sedantary domestic habit 
of life renders this advantage not so necessary. They 
wear a long habit, adjusted to the shape and cover¬ 
ing of the whole body. The toilet of a woman, in 
only moderate circumstances, is composed of an ex¬ 
traordinary number of articles, gold chains, ear-rings, 
strings of pearls, bracelets, rings, &c. On going out, 
they generally throw a large silk handkerchief over 
their coif, which hangs over the shoulders and down 
the back. 

Of the Employment and social Habits of the Russians. 

A GREAT part of the lower class of people at Pe¬ 
tersburg can scarcely be reckoned among the inhabi¬ 
tants. Throughout the summer many thousands are 


1^8 Empi^ymmt^ £sPc. of the Russians. 
employed as carpenters, bricklayers, masons, &c. who 
return home at the approach of winter, and whose 
numbers are supplied by other thousands, who gain 
their bread as ice-cutters. Most of them have no 
abiding city, and no property except the implements 
of their industry. They chiefly dwell in the surround¬ 
ing villages, where they enter into companies differ¬ 
ently composed as to numbers, and defray the ex- 
pences of living out of a common chest. Many of 
them, who have undertaken to erect a building or 
other job, never leave the place of their employment, 
but sleep in the open air among heaps of rubbish, or 
under gateways, in order to be earlier at work in the 
morning. Great numbers live entirely all summer 
on board the barks and floats of timber that come to 
Petersburg under their conduct. The Russian me¬ 
chanic, whose trade obliges him to a sedentary life, 
commonly lives in the cellar of some brick house.-— 
Almost all the houses having, according to the Ital¬ 
ian fashion, a habitable range of cellars, these people 
find quarters even in the best parts of the town, and it 
often happens that the cellars are filled with lodgers, 
while the workmen are still employed in building the 
first and second stories. 

No people can be more contented with their situa¬ 
tion than the Russians, and in no country is there a 
greater proportion of national cheerfulness and resig¬ 
nation, and a greater participation in public festivi¬ 
ties, than in Russia. No common Russian consumes 
all that he earns; frequently he continues his extreme¬ 
ly parsimonious way of life, even after he has by his 
diligence secured himself from all danger of future 
want. The earnings of the lowest day-labourer are 
more than is adequate to his wants. And he must 
be very poor indeed, or very lazy, who cannot at 
least once in the week, procure sufficient to gratify 
his thirst for strong liquors. Every Russian has his 
sheepskin pelisse, and never are the poorer sort seen 


Festivals in Russia. IGii) 

shivering with cold, as in many other European coun» 
tries. 

Enjoyment is the grand concern, the main object of 
all activity, the great spur to competition, the pivot on 
which the daily course of life at Petersburg turns. One 
part of the public must indeed work, that they may 
enjoy ; but a great proportion enjoy, without working. 

The day begins with the polite world at different 
periods. It is early says the merchant, stretching 
himself on his downy couch at nine or ten o’clock in 
the forenoon ; whereas the dangler at court, or the cli¬ 
ent has been waiting ever since six at the guard*room 
of the palace, or the antichamber of his patron. The 
bustle in the streets, and the business of the common 
people, are regulated in winter by break of day; in 
summer the fine mornings, and the scarcely setting 
sun, draw many a lazy citizen from his bed at an 
early hour. When the breakfast is over, the forenoon 
begins, which is usually devoted to business. All 
transactions of this nature must be done in the space 
between that and dinner. In most houses it is the 
custom to sit down to dinner at about two o’clock; 
some merchants dine between three and four; but 
the English, and such as would pass for English, 
take their principal meal about five. 

Sociability is here of a very different character from 
that of the other countries of Europe : it consists in 
the social enjoyments of all the comforts of life. A 
man reserves nothing but his business and his cares 
to himself and his confidants, all the rest is common 
property, which seems to belong less to the principal 
than to his companions. 

Of Russian Festivals, 

A PEOPLE so fond of social amusements as those of 
the city of Petersburg, are not apt to let slip any op¬ 
portunity for feasting and junketing. Name-days and 
birth-days are particularly solemnized in Russian 

< 1.2 


170 Modes of Travelling' in Russia* 
families with grand entertainments or balls, at which 
the friends and acquaintance customarily assemble 
without formal invitation. The birth of a child, the 
appointment to an office, the purchase of a house, in 
short, every fortunate occurrence, furnishes an occa¬ 
sion for a domestic festival. At these times likewise 
the same ease and freedom prevail, that so agreeably 
heighten the character. No customs is of such uni¬ 
versal obligation as not to admit of an exception with¬ 
out impropriety ; no where are fewer formalities, and 
no where is the neglect of them attended with fewer 
remarks and expostulations. Weddings, christenings, 
and funerals, are conducted in various ways; there 
being at Petersburg no rule of etiquette prescribing 
the pomp, nor any form to regulate the ceremonies. 

Of the Modes of Travelling in Russia, 

Among the many conveniences introduced of late 
into Russia, that of travelling is extremely remarka¬ 
ble. Nothing strikes a stranger more, than the facility 
Avith which the Russians perform the longest and 
most uncomfortable journeys. They travel in sledges 
made of the bark of the linden-tree, lined with thick 
felt, drawn by rein-deer, when the snow is frozen 
hard enough to bear them. In the internal parts of 
Russia horses draw their sledges; and the sledge¬ 
way towards February becomes so well beaten, that 
they erect a kind of couch upon the sledges, in which 
they may lie at full length, and so travel night and 
day, wrapt up in good furs; thus they will some¬ 
times perform a journey of four hundred miles in 
three days and nights. 

Instead of hackney-coaches in the streets of Peters¬ 
burg, there are persons always plying at their stands, 
ready to drive where they are ordered, in summer 
with drojekasy and in winter with sledges. The dro- 
jeka consists of a bench, with springs under it, and 
cushions upon it, on four wheels, at one end of which 






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The manner in which the Emperor travels through the snow from Moscow to St. Petersburgh. 





























































































































































































































































































































































Modes of Travelling in Russia* 171 

is the horse, and just behind him sits the driver ; in 
other respects the drojeka is constructed according 
to the fancy of the owner: thus some are made with 
elbows ; some have a tester to preserve the passengers 
from rain ; some have backs ; and others are plain. 
Those that are intended for public service are made 
in the simplest form, very light, and always gaudily 
painted. Two persons at most can sit on them be¬ 
sides the driver, with tolerable ease. Having no 
covering, and frequently affording no protection from 
the dirt, the rider is entirely exposed to the weather; 
and the jolting of the motion, whence the name of 
drojeka was obtained, renders it a very unpleasant 
vehicle. In the best frequented parts of the town are 
handsome sledges, with fine running horses. Driv¬ 
ing at full speed is one of the favourite winter diver¬ 
sions of the Russians. In the long and broad streets 
are frequently seen abreast two, four, or six sledges. 
No one, who has not been an eye-witness, can form 
any idea of the rapidity with which they glide along 
the frozen snow. The dexterity of the driver strikes 
every foreigner with astonishment. In the busiest 
streets, a prodigious number of sledges are running 
across each other in every direction, almost all of 
them driving very fast, and yet it is extremely sel¬ 
dom that an accident happens. Every driver wears 
a plate of tin at his back, on which is painted his 
number, and the quarter in which the stand is to 
which he belongs. 

When the emperor or any of the royal family make 
a long journey, a machine is used, large enough to con¬ 
tain a bed, table, chairs, &c. so that four or six per¬ 
sons may lodge in it, and be furnished with all neces¬ 
sary accommodations. This machine is set on a 
sledge drawn by twenty-four horses, which are re¬ 
lieved at regular stages ; and to illuminate the road 
by night, great piles of wood are placed at certain 
distances and set on fire. 


( 172 ) 

Of Russian Marriages and Funerals, 

Among the lower classes in Russia the nuptial cere¬ 
monies are peculiar to themselves. When the pa¬ 
rents are agreed upon a match, though the parties 
perhaps have never seen each other, the bride is 
examined by a number of females who are bound to 
correct any defect they may discover in her person. 
On the wedding-day she is crowned with a garland of 
wormwood ; and after the priest has tied the nuptial 
knot, his clerk or sexton throws a handful of hops 
upon the bead of the bride, wishing that she may 
prove as fruitful as that plant. She is then led home, 
with abundance of coarse ceremonies. The barba¬ 
rous treatment of wives by their husbands, which for¬ 
merly extended to the right of putting them to 
death, is now either guarded against by the laws of 
the country, or by particular stipulation in the mar¬ 
riage conract. 

The Russians enterain many fantastical notions 
with regard to the state of the dead. After the 
corpse is dressed, a priest is hired to pray for the 
soul, to purify it with incense and sprinkle it with 
holy water while it remains above ground. When 
the body is carried to the grave, which is done with 
many gesticulations of sorrow, the priest produces a 
ticket signed by the bishop and another clergyman, 
as the deceased’s passport to heaven. This being 
put into the coffin between the fingers of the corpse, 
the company return to the deceased’s house, where 
they drown their sorrow in intoxication, which lasts 
with few intervals forty days. During that time a 
priest every day says prayers over the grave of the 
deceased; for though the Russians do not believe in 
purgatory, yet they imagine that their departed friend 
may be assisted, by prayer, in his long journey to the 
place of his destination after this life. 


( ^73 ) 


Of their Diversions and Entertainments, 

The amusements of the politer part of mankind 
are, by the extent of civilization, and by the regular 
intercourse of nations, now become so much alike in 
all countries, that the account of them from one capi¬ 
tal would nearly suit all others : the popular diver¬ 
sions, however, still almost every where bear the 
stamp of a certain peculiarity, which may not unfre- 
quently be regarded as a remarkable addition to the 
history of its manners. 

The Russian, on the whole, is a cheerful being. A 
happy volubility, and a thoughtlessness peculiar to 
himself, accompany him through life. The most 
penurious condition, and the most toilsome labour, 
leave him always some opportunities for the enjoy¬ 
ment of his existence. The former gives him no 
concern, as his circle of ideas seldom extends to the 
representation of a nobler and more refined state of 
being; and the latter he mitigates by singing his 
country ballads, and by taking a portion of brandy. 
The verge, at which this excellent ground colour in 
the national character gradually fades away, is the 
line of partition between the populace and the citizen. 
The higher the classes of mankind, the less natural 
is their mirth. 

The cheerful disposition of the common Russians 
being chiefly maintained by singing, that ought to 
be the first amusement to be mentioned. Every em¬ 
ployment, even the most laborious, the Russian alle¬ 
viates by singing ; and every satisfaction, every pleas¬ 
ure, is by the same means heightened and improved. 
There is not a nation in Europe in which the propen¬ 
sity to this amusement is so prevalent as in Russia. 

The national interest contained in the subjects of 
Russian ballads, their extremely simple but melodi¬ 
ous tunes, the musical disposition, and generally well- 


174 Amusements^ ^c. of the Russians* 
formed organs of the people, have a very agreeable 
and surprising effect even on unmusical strangers and 
foreigners. It is therefore a customary recreation of 
the higher ranks in St. Petersburg to take with them 
in a boat, on their parties of pleasure on the water, a 
band of expert singers, to sing the proper Russian 
ballads, a practice likewise often used at their tables 
at home. 

When the Russian populace are disposed to be mer¬ 
ry in company, the dance cannot be omitted. No popu¬ 
lar dance can be more expressive and diverting, than 
the national dance commonly called the Dove-dance, 
It is generally performed by one couple, who stand 
facing one another at some distance,seemingly making 
love together ; and with energetic pantomimical ges¬ 
tures, by turns, sue, reject, importune, disdain, and 
comply. As this dance is throughout a natural, strong¬ 
ly impressive pantomime, art can add little or nothing 
to its improvement. The music to which it is danced 
is extremely simple; often no instrument at all is 
used, but the bystanders sing in chorus some vul¬ 
gar ballad to the tune. In the public-houses, called 
Kabacks^ the populace assemble at idle hours, in 
merry companies, to sing and carouse. 

Among the places of public resort for the lower 
classes, the bathing houses must be included, which 
administer not only to necessity, but to recreation.-— 
The common Russians frequent them at least once 
a week; and the day on which this custom is adopt-- 
ed is a holiday for them. Vapour baths are to be 
found in great numbers, which are thus constructed ; 
the bath room has a large vaulted oven, which is so 
strongly heated, that the field stones which form the 
upper part of it become glowing hot. For augment¬ 
ing the heat, water is sprinkled on these stones, by 
which process the room is immediately filled with va¬ 
pour. Round the walls are benches or scaffolds, af¬ 
fording every person the choice of an atmosphere 


Amusements, £s?c. of the Kussiaris. ITS 
more or less hot, as the bench is higher or lower 
from the ground. The bathers sit or lie in this hot 
vapour, which produces such a perspiration, as with¬ 
out actual experiment cannot be well conceived. To 
promote this still more, it is the common practice for 
the bathers to be gently flogged with dry bunches of 
leaf twigs of birch, and then rubbed down with wool¬ 
len cloths. Almost all the hospitals and public in¬ 
stitutions of every kind are provided with such baths ; 
and even among the higher classes of the inhabit¬ 
ants of the city, the vapour bath is used as a neces¬ 
sary and a luxury. 

The games in practice with the common people, 
for recreation and amusement, are all extremely 
simple requiring only exertion and agility. In their 
invention they are entirely national j the populace of 
the town, notwithstanding their long acquaintance 
with foreigners, having never learnt to mingle any 
foreign manners with their pastimes. 

In all the streets, especially in winter, nothing is 
more common than to see men or boys wrestling or 
boxing. This is merely a diversion, being seldom 
or never the effect of anger or quarrels, but usually 
engaged in from a good-humoured challenge, per¬ 
haps, in winter, for the purpose of warming them¬ 
selves. 

Not less general is the game of foot-ball, particu¬ 
larly among the drivers of sledges and drojekas ply¬ 
ing at their stands for a fare. A large ball stuffed 
with feathers is kicked about; and he who succeeds 
in catching it, or picking it up with his hands, in 
spite of kicks and cuffs of his playmates, carries off 
the prize of nuts or money. Chess and drafts are 
likewise very common with the Russian populace.— 
In the large squares, or under the arcades of the 
I shops, people of the lowest classes are every day 
I seen amusing themselves at these games, and many 
I of them in a masterly way. 



176 Amusements^ i^c, of the Russians, 

The most common amusement is the swing, which 
every where, and at all times, is used as an amuse¬ 
ment by persons of rank and condition ; but at Easter 
it is the grand diversion of the holidays. The swings 
may be divided into three sorts ; some have avibrat- 
ing motion, and these are the most common, well 
known in Germany and England ; others are turned 
round in a perpendicular, and others again in a hori¬ 
zontal direction. The first of these latter species 
consists of two high posts, on the top of which rests 
an axle, having two pair of poles fixed in its centre. 
Each of these pair of poles has at its two extremities 
a seat suspended to a moveable axis. The proprie¬ 
tor, by turning the axis that rests on the two posts, 
makes all the eight seats go round in a perpendicu¬ 
lar circle, so that they alternately almost touch the 
ground, and then are mounted aloft in the air. The 
last kind is composed of chairs, chariots, sledges, 
wooden horses, swans, goats, &c. fastened at the ex¬ 
tremities of long poles, and forced rapidly round in 
a horizontal circle. In the Easter-holidays, all kinds 
of machines are set up in the public squares ; and, 
as the common people are remarkably fond of the di¬ 
version, it is a joyful season to the populace, who, 
then devote themselves without restraint to their na¬ 
tional propensity to mirth. The numerous concourse 
of persons, of all ranks and descriptions, who parade 
in a circle with their elegant and sumptuous equipa¬ 
ges, the honest merriment of the crowd, the hearty’ 
participation with which they enter into these amuse¬ 
ments, the striking and singular appearances of the 
exhibition itself, give this popular festivity a charac¬ 
ter so peculiar, that the man of observation, who will 
take pains to study the nation, even on this humour¬ 
ous stage, may catch very powerful strokes of the pen¬ 
cil for his delineation. He will not fail to discern 
the general gaiety with which old and young, chil¬ 
dren and grey-beards, are possessed, and which is 


The Russian Caraival. 





























































































































































































































































































































































































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Amusements, ^c, of the RussiaTis. 177 
here not kindled for a transient moment, but is sup¬ 
ported by every pleasant occasion, and placed in its 
most agreeable light. He will remark the spirit of 
urbanity and gallantry, appearing in a thousand lit¬ 
tle ways, as by no means an indifferent feature in 
the national character. Here a couple of beggars, 
with their clothes in tatters, are saluting one another 
in the most decent and respectful manner; a long 
string of questions about their welfare opens the dia¬ 
logue, which likewise concludes with a polite em¬ 
brace. Yonder a young fellow is offering to hand 
his girl, whose cheeks are glowing with paint and 
brandy, into a seat, in which they are both presently 
to be canted up in the air; and even in those lofty 
regions his tenderness never forsakes him. Only 
one step farther, and the eye is attracted by differ¬ 
ent scenes. The same people, who were but now 
greeting each other in such friendly terms, are en¬ 
gaged in a violent quarrel, in which they exhaust 
the enormous store of abusive epithets in which the 
Russian tongue abounds. All that can degrade and 
exasperate a human being finds its expression in this 
energetic language ; yet with this vehemence of 
speech they never lose their temper. 

While they are making the most furious gestures, 
straining their throats to the utmost pitch, loading one 
another with the most liberal profusion of insults, 
there is not the least danger that they should proceed 
to blows. The police, well knowing, that with all 
this noise no lives will be lost, cools the heated par¬ 
ties by a plentiful shower from the fire-engine, kept 
OH the spot for that purpose, and which is found to 
be of such excellent service, that one of them is al¬ 
ways at hand wherever a concourse of people is ex¬ 
pected. Now, all at once, the strife is over, the two 
vagabonds are running arm in arm to the nearest 
post-house, to ratify their renovated friendship over 
a glass of brandy. 

vox. II. R 


IT'S A^nusemenlSy of the Russians* 

In the vicinity of swings, booths are usually run 
up of boards, in which low comedies are performed. 
Each representation lasts about half an hour, and the 
price of admittance is very trifling; but as the con¬ 
fluence of the people is extremely great, and the act¬ 
ing goes on the whole day, the profits are always 
considerable, both to the managers and to the per¬ 
formers, who share the amount between them. 

The ice*hills are exceedingly common, and aflbrd 
a perpetual fund of amusement to the populace du¬ 
ring the Russian carnival. Every ice-hill is con¬ 
structed in the following manner : a scaffolding is 
raised upon the frozen river, about thirty feet high, 
with a landing-place at top, the ascent to which is 
by a ladder. From this summit a sloping plain of 
boards, about four yards broad and thirty long, de¬ 
scends to the superficies of the river. Upon these 
boards are laid square masses of ice, about four 
inches thick, which, being first smoothed with the 
axe, and laid close to each other, are then sprinkled 
with water, by which means they adhere to the board 
and to one another, and form an inclined plain of 
pure ice. From the bottom of this plain the snow 
is cleared away for the length of two hundred yards, 
and the breadth of four, upon the level bed of the 
river, and the sides of this course, as well as the 
sides and top of the scaffolding, are ornamented with 
firs and pines. Each person being provided with a 
sledge something like a butcher’s tray, mounts the 
ladder, and having attained the summit, he seats him¬ 
self on his sledge, at the upper extremity of the in¬ 
clined plain, down which he suffers it to glide with 
considerable rapidity; the velocity acquired in the 
descent carries it to more than one hundred yards 
upon the level ice of the river. At the end of the 
course there is usually another ice-hill similar to the 
former, which begins where the other ends; so that 
the person immediately mounts .again, and, in the 


Amusements^ £sPc. of the Russians* 179 

the same manner, glides down the other plain of ice. 
The great difficulty consists in steering and poising 
the sledge, as it is hurried down the inclined plain. 
Boys also amuse themselves in skating down these 
hills : they glide chiefly upon one skait, being better 
able to preserve a proper balance upon one leg than 
upon two. 

In the gardens of Oranienbaum, a few miles from 
Petersburg, is a very extraordinary building, de¬ 
nominated the Flying Mountain ; it is made of wood, 
supported upon brick walls, representing a mountain 
composed of three principal ascents, gradually di¬ 
minishing in height, with an intermediate space to 
resemble vallies; from top to bottom is a floored 
way, in which three parallel grooves are formed.— 
It is thus used : a small carriage, containing one per¬ 
son, being placed in the centre groove upon the high¬ 
est point, goes with great rapidity down one hill; 
the v’^elocity which it acquires in its descent carries 
it up a second, and so on till it arrives at the bot¬ 
tom of the area, when it is placed in one of the 
grooves, and drawn up by means of a cord fixed to 
a windlass. 

At the top of the mountain are several apartments 
for the accommodation of the court and principal no¬ 
bility, and there is room for many thousand specta¬ 
tors within the colonade and upon its roof. Near 
the flying mountain is a spacious amphitheatre, in 
which tournaments are usually exhibited. 

The roads approaching to the city of Petersburg 
are bordered on both sides with elegant and splendid 
villas. Most of them belong to private persons, and 
are used for the entertainment of themselves and 
their friends in a very hospitable manner. But, with 
still greater liberality, several persons of rank con¬ 
vert their gardens into places of public entertain¬ 
ment, to which all people of decent appearance are 
at liberty to come. The country-seats of the two 


180 Amusementsy of the Russians, 
brothers Nariskin deserve here particular notice, as 
being frequented on Sundays by great numbers of 
the higher classes. A friendly invitation, in four dif¬ 
ferent languages, inscribed over the entrance to the 
grounds, authorises every one of decent appearance 
and behaviour to amuse himself there, in whatever 
way he pleases, without fear of molestation. In sev¬ 
eral pavilions are musicians for the benefit of those 
who choose to dance : in others, are chairs ready 
for the reception of any party who wish to recreate 
themselves by sedate conversation, after roaming about 
with the throng. Some take to the swings, the bow¬ 
ling-green, and other diversions. On the canals and 
lakes are gondolas, some constructed for rowing, 
others for sailing; and refreshments are bountifully 
spread on tables in particular alcoves, or are handed 
about by servants in livery. 

We shall conclude this account of the amusements 
of Russia with a description of the masquerades held 
every year at Peterhof, which is situated about twen¬ 
ty miles from the capital. The aniversary of this 
festival happens towards the end of June, when eve¬ 
ry being, susceptible of pleasure, leaves town, in or¬ 
der to partake of an entertainment that may be con¬ 
sidered as unique. The highway thither is so co¬ 
vered with equipages, horsmen, and pedestrians, that 
it resembles one continued caravan. The whole dis¬ 
trict looks as if it was barricaded; about the parks 
and gardens particular groups are distributed; nu¬ 
merous parties take their dinners under the open sky, 
and every hedge and avenue swarms with people.— 
Towards evening, an extraordinary and captivating 
scene presents itself to the eye: in a few minutes 
the whole gardens are illuminated; the branches of 
the trees, and the water of the fountains, seem to be 
converted into fire. The excellent situation of Pe¬ 
terhof, and its variety of water works, combine with 
the effects of pyrotechnics to fascinate the sight by a 


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Amusements^ Cs?c. of the Russians, 181 
grand picture, produced as by a magic, and which, if 
once beheld, can never be forgotten. The canal is 
covered with yachts lighted up to their streamers; 
on the shore is an enormous pyramid of fire, and be¬ 
hind it is the Black Sea, with a fleet of men of war, 
all illuminated. The streams and the cascades rolling 
over various coloured lamps, the leaves of the trees 
trembling in the glitter of millions of broken rays of 
light, and the very sand appears to imitate the blaz¬ 
ing motion of the elements, with which it might seem 
to be impregnated. 

Amidst these miracles of fairy art, thousands of 
persons are wandering about, and being in a black silk 
garb, look like spirits from the subterranean world. 
From the woods, at various distances, resounds the 
inexpressibly soft and majestic harmony of the Rus¬ 
sian hunting music, the notes of which re-echo in the 
pure evening breeze. With a very moderate share 
of fancy, it is easy here to transport one’s self to the 
shores that border the Elysian fields. 

In the apartments of the palace, the motley-colour¬ 
ed multitude of masks press round the well*furnished 
tables or join hands in the mazy dance. Pomp and 
plenty, the usual attendants on royal banquets, here 
unite in the most unconstrained conviviality. Soli¬ 
cited on all hands to enjoyment, the guests willingly 
resign themselves to the enchanting tumult, till the 
rising sun dispels the fascinating illusion, and the 
fiery sea of the preceding night is suddenly metamor¬ 
phosed into a miserable show of smoky lamps. 

Of the annual Market on the Neva. 

At the conclusion of the long fast, which closes on 
the fourth of January, the Russians lay in their pro¬ 
visions for the remaining part of the winter. For 
which purpose an annual market, which lasts three 
days, is held upon the river, near the fortress. A 
R 2 


182 Annual Market on the Neva* 

street, more than a mile in length, is lined on each 
side with an immense store of provisions, sufficient 
for the supply of the capital during the three follow¬ 
ing months. Many thousand raw carcases of oxen, 
sheep, hogs, pigs, and poultry of all kinds, and every 
species of frozen food are exposed to sale. The 
larger quadrupeds are grouped in various circles up¬ 
right, their hind legs fixed in the snow, with their 
heads and fore legs turned towards each other.— 
These occupy the hindermost row: next to them 
succeed a regular series of animals, descending grad¬ 
ually to the smallest, intermixed with poultry and 
game hanging in festoons, and garnished with heaps 
of fish, butter, and eggs. It is observable that many 
birds, as well as several animals, in these northern 
regions become white in winter : many hundred black 
cocks being changed to that colour; and some may 
at this season be seen which have been taken before 
the metamorphosis is completed, exhibiting a variegat¬ 
ed mixture of black and white plumage. 

The most distant quarters contribute to supply this 
vast store of provisions ; and the finest veal is sent 
by land carriage as far as from Archangel, which is 
eight hundred and thirty miles from Petersburg, yet 
every species of food was, when Mr. Coxe was in 
Russia, exceedingly cheap j butcher’s meat of every 
kind from a penny to three halfpence per pound, 
geese at ten-pence each, large pigs at eight pence, and 
other articles in proportion. In order to render fro¬ 
zen food fit for dressing, it must be first thawed in 
cool water. 

Of the Manners^ ^c, of the Inhabitants of lobolsk, 
Kurgan^ £s?c. in Siberia* 

The streets of Tobolsk are paved, or rather plank¬ 
ed, with timber, which is far cleaner, and much more 
agreeable than pebbles. The market place is very 


Customs of the Inhabitants of Tobolsk^ ^c. 183 
spacious, where, besides provisions and articles of 
the first necessity, large quantities of Chinese and 
European goods are exposed to sale. Fish of all 
kinds are in great abundance here. In the neigh¬ 
bourhood of this town, the peasants are too indolent 
to carry away, by degrees, the dung of their cow¬ 
houses and stables ; it is a fact, that they are frequent¬ 
ly obliged to pull down their houses, and take the ma¬ 
terials to another place, where they erect them again ; 
it being considered as a task much less difficult to re¬ 
build their houses than remove the enormous dung¬ 
hills, which, in time accumulate about them. 

At the distance of a day’s journey from Kurgan, in 
Siberia, the place to which M. Kotzebue was ban¬ 
ished, is a village, where travellers of all descriptions 
are accommodated with well-furnished chambers, 
good beds, and are treated with the greatest hospi¬ 
tality, for which no payment is required. The fol¬ 
lowing may serve as a sketch of the state of society 
at Kurgan. 

The assessor, Judas Nikitisch, celebrated the fes¬ 
tival of his patron saint, which, in Russia, is a more 
important festival than a birth-day. He came to me, 
says Kotzebue, early in the morning, and invited me 
to his house, where he said I should meet all the 
principal people of the place. I went, and, on my 
arrival, was stunned by the noise of five men, whom 
they call singers. These men, turning their backs on. 
the company, apply their right hands to their mouths, 
to improve the sound of their voices, and make as 
loud a noise as possible in one corner of the room.— 
This was the salutation given to every guest on his 
entering the house. An immense table groaned un¬ 
der the weight of twenty dishes, but I could see 
neither plates nor chairs for the accommodation of 
the company. The whole had the appearance of a 
breakfast: the principal dishes were of different kinds 
of fish, it being the season of lent. The master of 


184 Customs of the Inhabitants of Kurgan^ ^c, 
the house cairicd a huge brandy bottle in his hand? 
eager to serve his guests, who frequently drank to 
his health, without any signs of intoxication. There 
was no wine, but, instead of it, our host presented us 
with mead, which is a great rarity, as there are no 
bees in Siberia. 

The guests, when they were satisfied, took their 
hats, and went away. I felt it necessary to follow 
their example. “ Is the entertainment over f” said I 
to the governor, who stood near me. “ No,” he re¬ 
plied, “the company are going home to take their 
naps, and at five o’clock they will be here again ’’ 

I returned at the appointed hour. The scene was 
then changed. Instead of fish and brandy, the table 
was covered with cakes, raisins, almonds, Chinese 
sweet-meats, and a dry conserve of apples cut into 
slices. 

The mistress of the house, a young and charming 
woman, now made her appearance, and with her, the 
ladies and daughters of the guests. Tea, French 
brandy, and punch, were handed round to the com¬ 
pany. Card-tables were set, and the guests played 
as long as the brandy allowed them to distinguish the 
colour of the cards. At supper-time, every person 
retired, and the entertainment closed. 

As M. Kotzebue was returning from Kurgan, his 
carriage broke down in a Tartar village, when two or 
three of the inhabitants immediately ran to his assist¬ 
ance One of them was a sort of carpenter. “ I stop¬ 
ped,’’ says he, “ before his door, and, learning that 
the repairs would take up three hours, I desired my 
servant to make tea. The inside of the Tartar houses 
being very dirty, I preferred passing the evening be¬ 
fore the door ; and having procured a table and chair, 
I began to open my travelling-trunk, to take out what 
was necessary to make my tea. Curiosity had drawn 
all the inhabitants of the village about me who seem¬ 
ed to be totally ignorant of the use of utensils of luxu- 



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The Inrlians at Astrakan engat^ed in solemn Prayer. 


































































































































































































































































































































































































Dispositions^ of the Northern Indians, 185 
ry. An old silk bed-gown attracted their attention ; 
every one was desirous to handle it. 

But what delighted them to ecstacy was the look- 
ing glass that lined the lid of the travelling box. They 
sat in groups before it, laughed aloud at the sight of 
their own faces, and explained to one another, by 
droll gesticulations, their astonishment at seeing be¬ 
fore them the country that was behind. 


NORTH AMERICA. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE NORTHERN INDIANS. 

Of their Dispositions and Domestic Habits, 

THE dispositions of the Northern Indians are, in 
general, morose and covetous, and they seem to be 
entirely unacquainted with the name of gratitude. 
Ill their visits to the British Factory, they are for 
ever pleading poverty; and, to excite the compassion 
of the governor, are seldom at a loss for a plausible 
story, which they relate as the occasion of their dis¬ 
tress, and never fail to interlard their history with 
sighs, groans, and tears, sometimes affecting to be 
lame, and even blind. No people seem to have more 
command of their passions on such occasions; they 
can even shed tears on one side of their face, while 
the other, at the same moment, will exhibit a signifi¬ 
cant smile. False pretences for obtaining charity are 
so common among these people, that if the governor 
paid attention to them all, the whole tribe of North¬ 
ern Indians would make a trade of begging, instead 
of bringing furs to purchase what they want. 

In their trade they never fail to decievc Europeans 
whenever it is in their power, and take every method 




186 Dispositions and Habits 

to overreach them. They will disguise their persons, 
and change their names, in order to defraud them of 
their lawf ul debts, which they are sometimes permit¬ 
ted to contract at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fac¬ 
tory. Nor is there any way of rendering a Northern 
Indian either serviceable to himself and the Compa¬ 
ny, but by keeping him at a distance; for the least 
indulgence, or apparent partiality, renders him indo¬ 
lent and troublesome, and puts him upon contriving 
methods to tax the generosity of those who have any 
dealings with him. But with all these bad qualities, 
they are the mildest tribe of Indians that trade at any 
of the Company’s settlements ; and as they are never 
heated with liquor, they are always in their senses, 
and never proceed to riot, or any violence beyond 
bad language. And, notwithstanding they are so 
covetous, and pay no regard to private property, but 
take every advantage of bodily strength to rob their 
neighbours, not only of their goods, but of their 
wives, yet, let their losses and affronts be ever so 
great, they never seek any other revenge than that of 
wrestling. Murder is seldom heard of among them. 
A murderer is shunned and detested by all the tribe, 
and is obliged, like another Cain, to wander up and 
down, forlorn and forsaken, even by his own relations 
and former friends. 

Among the Northern Indians the men are very;, 
jealous of their wives, and the same spirit probably 
reigns among the women ; but they are kept so much 
in awe of their husbands, that the liberty of thinking 
is the greatest privilege which they enjoy. The pres¬ 
ence of a Northern Indian man strikes a peculiar awe 
into his wives, as he always assumes the same au¬ 
thority over them, that the master of a family in Eu¬ 
rope usually does over his domestic servants. 

The northern Indians, living in such an inhospita¬ 
ble part of the glohe, are, for want of firing, obliged 
to eat their victuals quite raw, particularly in the 


of the Northern Indiana, 187 

summer season ; custom, however, renders this prac¬ 
tice rather pleasant than otherwise to them, for when 
they make a pretence of dressing it, they seldom 
warm it through. Their extreme poverty will admit 
but few of them to purchase brass kettles from the 
Company, so that they are still under the necessity of 
continuing their original mode of boiling their victuals 
in large upright vessels made of biich-rind. As 
these will not admit of being exposed to the lire, the 
Indians, to supply the defect, heat stones red hot, and 
put them into the water, which soon occasions it to 
boil; and, by a succession of hot stones, they con¬ 
tinue the process as long as it is necessary to com¬ 
plete the operation. This method of cookery, though 
expeditious, is attended with a great evil : the vict¬ 
uals which are thus prepared are full of sand ; for the 
stones are not only liable to shiver to pieces, but, be¬ 
ing of a gritty nature, fall to a mass of gravel in the 
kettle, which cannot be prevented from mixing with 
the victuals wich are boiled in it. 

The most remarkable dish, among all the tribes of 
Indians, is blood mixed with the h^f-digested food 
which is found in the deer’s stomach, and boiled up 
with a sufficient quantity of water, to make it of the 
consistence of pease-potage. Some finely shred fat, 
and scraps of tender flesh, first chewed by the men 
and boys, in order to break the globules that contain 
the fat, are boiled with it. To render this dish more 
palateable, they have a method of mixing the blood 
with the contents of the stomach in the paunch itself, 
and hanging it up in the heat and smoke of the fire 
for several days, which puts the whole mass into a 
state of fermentation, and gives it such an agreeable 
acid taste, that it is asserted by Mr. Hearne, was it 
not for prejudice, it might be eaten by those who 
have the nicest palates. 

Young calves, fawns, beaver, &c. taken out of the 
bellies of their dams, are greedily devoured by the 






188 Boats^ Sledges^ £sPc, of the Northern Indians, 
Northern Indians; and Mr. Hearne, and other Eu¬ 
ropeans who have eaten them, agree, that they are to 
be reckoned among the choicest delicacies. From 
dishes of this sort, a kind of proverb is known in the 
northern settlements, that “ whoever wishes to know 
what is good, must live with the Indians.” 

Of the BoatSy Sledges^ Tents^ and Employments of the 
Northern Indians, 

The Northern Indian canoe bears some resem¬ 
blance to a weaver’s shuttle, being flat-bottomed, 
with straight upright sides, and sharp at each end, 
but the stern is by far the widest part, as there the 
baggage is‘ generally laid, and occasionally a second 
person, who always lies down at full length in the bot¬ 
tom of the canoe. These vessels are about twelve or 
thirteen feet in length, two feet broad in the widest 
part, and are managed with a single paddle. 

The sledge is made of different sizes, from eight 
to twelve feet in length, and from twelve to sixteen 
inches wide. The boards of which the sledges are 
composed are not more than a quarter of an inch 
thick, and seldom exceed five or six inches in width, 
as broader would be unhandy for Indians to work, 
who have no other tools than an ordinary knife, turn¬ 
ed up a little at the point. The boards are sewed to¬ 
gether with thongs of parchment, deer-skin, and se¬ 
veral cross bars of wood are sewed on the upper side, 
which serve both to strengthen the sledge and secure 
ground lashing, to which the load is always fastened 
by other small thongs. 

To pitch the tent of an Indian in winter, it is first 
necessary to find a dry, level piece of ground, which 
is ascertained by thrusting a stick through the snow 
down to the earth, all over the proposed part. The 
snow is then to be cleared away, in a circular form, 
to the very moss, which is cut up and removed to 


Boats^ Tents^ £sPc. of the Indians, 
prevent any accident by means of fire. Poles are af¬ 
terwards procured, two of which are tied together 
near the top, then raised erect, and their lower ends 
extended as wide as the proposed diameter of the 
tent; the other poles are then set round at equal dis¬ 
tances from each other, and in such orde^j that their 
lower ends form a complete circle, which gives bound¬ 
aries to the tent on all sides; the cloth which resembles 
in shape a fan mount inverted, is then put round the 
poles in such a manner, that the two edges lap over, 
and form a door to the leeward. But if the tent is 
intended for long residence, the door is always made 
to face the south. A small hole is left at the top, to 
serve the double purpose of chimney and window.— 
The fire is made on the ground in the centre, and the 
remainder of the floor is covered all over with small 
branches of the pine tree, which serve for seats and 
beds. 

The real wants of the Northern Indians are few, 
and easily supplied ; a hatchet, an ice-chisel, a file, 
and a knife, are all that are required to enable them, 
with a little industry, to procure a comfortable live¬ 
lihood j and those who endeavour to have more are 
always the most unhappy, and may, in fact, be called 
the slaves and carriers to the rest: 

Such are the charms to barren states assign’d, 

Their wants but few, their wishes all confin’d ; 

Yet, let them only share the praises due, 

If few their wants, their pleasures are but few ; 

For every want that stimulates the breast 
Becomes a source of pleasure when redrest. 

Goldsmith. 

The first employment to which the Northern In¬ 
dians are accustomed is, that of angling for fish un¬ 
der the ice in winter, which requires no other process 
than cutting round holes in the ice, about a foot or 
two in diameter, and letting down a baited hook, 
which is always kept in motion, not only to prevent 


190 Employments of the Indians* 

the water from freezing, but because it is found the 

best means of alluring the fish to the hole. 

Another method of catching fish, is by setting a 
net under the ice, which is thus performed. Having 
ascertained the exact length of the net, they cut a 
number of* holes in the ice, at the distance of ten or 
twelve feet from each other, and as many in number 
as will be sufficient to stretch the net to its full length. 
The net is then easily secured, by means of a line and 
poles, under the ice, till they search it for fish, which 
they do by opening only the two end holes ; the line 
is veered away by one person, and the net hauled 
from under the ice by another ; and after the fish are 
taken out, the net is readily hauled back to its form¬ 
er station, and secured as before. 

The method which the Indians make use of for 
catching, or, as it is termed, pounding deer, deserves 
to be noticed. When they design to impound deer, 
they look out for one of their paths, which, if across 
a lake or wide river, or a barren plain, it is the more 
adapted for the purpose ; and if the path runs through 
a cluster of woods, capable of affording materials for 
building the pound, it adds considerably to the com¬ 
modiousness of the situation. 

The pound is built by making a strong fence with 
bushy trees, without regularity, and continued to any 
extent, at the pleasure of the builders ; some are more 
than a mile in circumference. The door or entrance 
is not larger than a common gate, and the inside is 
so crowded with small counter hedges, as to resemble 
a maze; in every opening of which is set a snare, 
made with thongs of deer-skins well twisted together, 
which are amazingly strong. One end of the snare 
is made fast to a pole, of a size and length sufficient 
to prevent the deer dragging it far before it gets en¬ 
tangled among the other woods, which are all left 
standing, excepting those that are necessary for mak¬ 
ing the fence, hedges, &c. 


Employments of the Indians, 191 

The pound thus prepared, a row of small brush¬ 
wood is stuck up in the snow on each side of the 
door or entrance, continued along the open part of 
the lake, river, or plain, and ranged in such a man¬ 
ner as to foim two sides of a long acute angle, grow¬ 
ing gradually wider in proportion to the distance they 
extend from the pound, which, sometimes, is not less 
than two or three miles, while the deer’s path is ex¬ 
actly along the middle, between the two rows of 
brushwood. Indians employed in this service pitch 
their tents on an eminence that aflPords them a com¬ 
manding prospect of the path leading to the pound; 
and, when they see any deer going that way, men, 
women, and children walk along the lake, or river 
side, under cover of the woods, till they get behind 
them, then step forth to open view, and proceed to¬ 
wards the pound, in the form of a crescent. The 
timorous deer, finding themselves pursued, and at 
the same time taking the two rows of brushy poles to 
be two ranks of people stationed to prevent their pass¬ 
ing on either side, run straight forward in the path, 
till they get into the pound. Thus enclosed, the 
women and children walk round the pound, to pre¬ 
vent them from breaking or jumping over the fence, 
while the men are employed in spearing such as are 
entangled in the snares, and shooting with bows and 
arrows those which remain loose in the pound. 

This method of hunting is sometimes so successful, 
that many families subsist by it, without having oc¬ 
casion to move their tents above once or twice during 
the course of a whole winter. This easy way of pro¬ 
curing a comfortable maintenance, in the winter 
months, is wonderfully well adapted to the support 
of the aged and infirm. 

Of their Treatment of the Women, 

In this, as in most uncivilized countries, the prin¬ 
cipal part of the labour falls upon the women, who, 


192 Of their Treatment of the Women, 
by being inured to carry and haul heavy loads from 
their childhood, and to do all manner of drudgery, 
are well fitted to the most laborious employments : 
and on this account, those men who are capable of 
maintaining several women, generally find them hum¬ 
ble and faithful servants, affectionate wives, fond and 
indulgant mothers. Custom seems to render this 
mode of life easy to the generality of women, whose 
wants are comprised in food and clothing only.— 
These women are the mildest and most virtuous of 
the females among the tribes of North America.— 
Mere the principal motive among the men to mar¬ 
riage is, that they may have a partner in the exces¬ 
sively laborious employments, while the softer en¬ 
dearments of a Conjugal life are considered only as 
secondary objects. 

The humiliating state in which the northern In¬ 
dian women are kept cannot be exhibited in any way 
stronger, than by observing the method of treating 
them at meals, though custom makes it sit light on 
those whose lot it is to bear it. When the men kill 
any beast, the women are sent to bring it to the tent, 
by whom every operation of splitting, drying, pond¬ 
ing, &c. is performed. The women took the vict¬ 
uals ; but, though of the highest rank, they are never 
permitted to partake of it, till all the males, even the 
servants, have eaten what they think proper; and in 
times of scarcity, it is frequently their lot to be left 
without a single morsel; and should they be detect¬ 
ed in helping themselves during the business of 
cookery, they would be subject to a severe beating, 
and be considered afterwards, through life, as having 
forfeited their character. 

From the most laborious duties the women are not 
exempted, even in those times when nature calls 
loudly for rest, and intermission from fatigue. Im¬ 
mediately after child-birth, they are forced to the 
performance of all kinds of services, in the same way 


Of the Inhabitants of Oonalashka. 193 
as if nothing had happened. “Women,’’ said one of 
the Indian chiefs, “ were made for labour ; one of 
them can carry or haul, as much as two men; they 
also pitch our tents, make and mend our clothing, 
keep us warm in the night; and, in fact, there is no 
such thing as travelling any considerable distance, or 
for any length of time in this country without their 
assistance. They are, besides, maintained at a very 
trifling expence; for, as they always cook, the very 
licking of their fingers in a scarce time is sufficient 
’for their subsistence 

Here all the gentler morals, such as play 

Through life’s more cultur’d walks, and charm the way; 

These, far dispers’d, on tim’rous pinions fly. 

To sport and flutter in a kinder sky. 

Goldsmith. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF OONALASHKA 
AND NOOTKA SOUND. 

THE native inhabitants of Oonalashka are to all 
appearance, a v^ery peaceable, inoffensive race of peo¬ 
ple : and it is said, that in regard to honesty they 
might serve as a pattern to the most civilized na¬ 
tions. They have their own chiefs, and seem to en¬ 
joy liberty and property without molestation from 
the Russians, with whom they live in great harmony, 
though it is evident that they have been subjected to 
them, and are now probably their tributaries. 

A warlike breed. They the glebe 
Have never turn’d, nor bound the golden sheaf, 

With limbs inur’d to ev’ry manly toil. 

Glover. 

These people, in building their houses, dig in the 
ground an oblong pit, from thirty to fifty feet long, 

s 2 




194 Of the Inhabitants of Oonalashka^ 
and fifteen or twenty feet broad ; over this they form 
a roof of wood, which they cover with turf and earth. 
Near each end is left a square opening, one of which 
is intended to admit the light, and the other is used 
to go in and out of the house with the assistance of a 
ladder, or rather upright post cut into steps. Round 
the sides and ends of the habitation, the families, 
several of which dwell together, have their separate 
apartments, where they sleep, and sit to work, not on 
benches, but in a sort of concave trench, covered with 
mats, so that this part of the house is kept clean and 
decent, but the same cannot be said of the middle of 
the house, which is common to all the families. Be¬ 
hind, and over the trench, they place the few effects 
which they possess, such as their mats, skins and ap¬ 
parel. Like those of the Greenlanders, their houses 
are heated and lighted by lamps. 

These people produce fire both by collision and at¬ 
trition. In the former case they strike two stones 
against each other, on one of which a quantity of 
brimstone has been previously rubbed. The latter 
method is performed by means of two pieces of wood, 
one of which is flat, and the other is a stick of about 
a foot and a half in length. They press the pointed 
end of the stick upon the other piece of wood, whirl¬ 
ing it nimbly round as a drill, and thus fire is quickly 
produced. 

The natives of this island do not appear to be long- 
lived; it is a very rare thing to see a person who 
can be supposed to have arrived to sixty years of 
age. What their religious opinions are, or whether 
they have any notions of a superintending first cause, 
and a future state, have not been ascertained. They 
inter their dead on the tops of hills, and raise over 
the grave a little hillock ; but if the grave be by the 
side of the road, a heap of stones is raised over it, and 
every one who passes by it adds a stone to the heap. 
This will account for the appearance of several stone 






Inside of a House at Oonalashka. 


























































































and Nootka Sound, 195 

mounds, that seem to have been artificially raised, 
and have the appearance of great antiquity. 

The inhabitants of Nootka Sound are quiet and 
peaceable ; they are rather reserved than loquacious; 
and, in their highest paroxysms of rage, they have 
neither strength of language, nor significancy of ges¬ 
tures, sufficient to express their anger. Their pub¬ 
lic orations consist of short sentences, or single 
words, forcibly repeated in one tone of voice, ac¬ 
companied by a single gesture, appropriated to each 
expression. 

From their exhibiting human skulls and bones to 
sale, there can be little doubt but that they treat their 
enemies with the most brutal cruelty ; nevertheless, to 
Europeans they appear docile, courteous, and good 
tempered ; quick in resenting injuries, and as quickly 
forgetting them. They seem to be actuated in no 
degree by the principle of curiosity, which is so 
predominant in most other nations. Few of them 
expressed any inclination to examine things with 
which they were unacquainted, and which to per¬ 
sons not entirely devoid of curiosity, would excite 
considerable astonishment. If they can procure the 
articles that they know are suited to their wants, 
they are satisfied ; and to obtain these, they manifest 
dispositions to roguery, which their virtue can sel¬ 
dom repress. 

The only inhabited parts of the Sound are two vil¬ 
lages, which are supposed to contain about two thou¬ 
sand souls. The houses consist of three rows, pla¬ 
ced at nearly equal distances behind each other, the 
front row being the largest ; besides these, there are 
a few straggling houses at each end. These buildings, 
if such they may be called, are made of very long 
and broad planks, resting upon the edges of each 
other, tied in different parts with the withes of the 
pine bark. On the outside there are slender posts, 
placed at considerable distances from each other, to 


196 Of the Inhabitants of Nootka Sound. 
which the planks are fastened, and there are some 
larger poles within placed aslant. These habitations 
have no regular doors, and can be only entered by a 
hole made by the unequal length of the planks. In 
the same way holes are left in the sides of the house, 
which serve as windows, but they are very irregu¬ 
larly disposed, without attending in the least to the 
shape or size of them. 

From within these habitations a view may be ob¬ 
tained from one end to the other of these ranges of 
buildings : for, notwithstanding the separations on 
each side, they are not made with such accuracy as 
to intercept the sight. On the sides of the houses 
benches are raised, about five or six inches higher 
than the rest of the floor, covered with mats, on 
which the family sit and sleep. The fire-place, which 
has neither hearth nor chimney, is in the middle of 
the floor. 

The men are chiefly employed in fishing, and kil¬ 
ling animals for the sustenance of their families ; but 
the women occupy themselves in manufacturing their 
garments, and in curing fish, which consists chiefly 
of sardines and herrings, which they carry from the 
canoes to their houses. They also go in their small 
canoes, which they manage very dexterously, to gath¬ 
er muscles and other shell fish. In this, as in most 
other uncivilized nations, there is no respect or at¬ 
tention shown to the women on account of their sex. 
The men never offer to assist them in, or relieve 
them from their most laborious employments. 

The young men are remarkably indolent, and are 
found generally sitting about in scattered companies, 
basking themselves in the sun, or wallowing on the 
sand upon the beach, like so many hogs, without any 
covering. 

Needy, yet in scorn 

Rejecting labour, wretched by their wants, 

Yet profligate through indolence, with limbs 
Enervated by sloth, their minds corrupt. 


Glovek- 




t 



.*$r' 


.<L 




Inside of a House in Nootka Sound. 























































































































































































































Character of the Canada Indians. 197 
This disregard to decency is wholly confined to 
the men, the women being always decently clothed, 
and behaving with that propriety which is so becom¬ 
ing their sex. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE FIVE INDIAN NATIONS OF CA¬ 
NADA. 

Of their general Character and Moneij. 

THE Five ^Nations consist of as many tribes, 
united by a sort of confederacy, and without any su¬ 
periority of the one over the other. The names by 
which they are known to our countrymen are, Mo¬ 
hawks, Oneydos, Onondagas, Cayugas and Sennekas, 
Each of these nations is an absolute republic by 
itself; and every castle in each nation makes an in¬ 
dependent state, and is governed in all public affairs 
by its own Sachems. I'he authority of these rulers 
is gained by, and consists wholly in, the opinion that 
the rest of the natives have of their wisdom and in¬ 
tegrity. Force is never resorted to for the purpose 
of executing their resolutions. Honour and esteem 
are their principal rewards; and shame the only pun¬ 
ishment. 

The natives of these tribes think themselves by na¬ 
ture superior to the rest of mankind, and assume a 
title, which, in their language, denotes their pre-emi¬ 
nence. This opinion of their supposed excellence 
they carefully infuse into the minds of their children, 
which inspires them with that courage, which has 
been so terrible to all the nations of North America, 
and which renders them the obiects of fear among 
the neighbouring Indian nations, from whom they 
receive a yearly tribute. Two o.^ .lie Sachems go 
about to receive this tribute, vv .h is paid in wam¬ 
pum, the current money amoic; „ c Indians. Warn- 




198 Conventions^ Method of Making JVar, £?*c. 
pum is of two kinds, white and purple : the white is 
worked out of the inside of the great shells into 
the form of a bead, and perforated, to string on leath¬ 
er } the purple is taken out of the inside of the mus¬ 
cle shell ; they are woven as broad as one’s hand, 
and about two feet long; these they call belts, and 
give and receive them at their treaties as the seals 
of friendship; for lesser matters a single string is 
given. Every bead is of known value, and a belt of 
a less number is made to equal one of a greater, by 
fastening so many as is wanting to the belt by a 
string. 

It is seldom for the sake of tribute that the Indians 
make war, but from their notions of glory, which 
they have strongly imprinted on their minds. The 
Five Nations, in their love of liberty, and their coun¬ 
try, in their bravery in battle, and their constancy in 
enduring torments, equal the fortitude of the most 
celebrated Romans. 

Of their Conventions^ Method of Making War^ and 
Treatment of Prisoners, 

Affairs of importance which concern all the Five 
Nations are transacted in a general meeting of the 
Sachems which is held near the centre of their coun¬ 
try : but when they treat with the British, the meet¬ 
ing has been commonly held at Albany. They strict¬ 
ly follow the maxim formerly used by the Romans to 
encrease their strength, that is, they encourage the 
people of other nations to incorporate with them j 
and when they have subdued any people, after hav¬ 
ing satiated their revenge by a few examples, they 
adopt the rest of their captives as subjects and friends, 
esteeming and treating them in every respect as them¬ 
selves. 

When any of the young men of these nations have 
a mind to signalize themselves, and to gain a repu- 


among the Canda Indians, 199 

tation among their countrymen, by some great enter- 
prize against an enemy, they at first communicate 
their design to two or three of their most intimate 
friends ; and if these fall in with the plan, an invita¬ 
tion is made, in their names, to all the young men of 
the castle, to feast on dog’s flesh. When the com¬ 
pany are assembled, the promoters of the enterprize 
set forth the undertaking in the best colours they 
can : they boast of what they intend to do, and incite 
others to join, from the glory that is to be obtained ; 
and all who partake of the entertainment are consid¬ 
ered as having enlisted in the cause. 

The night before they set out, they make a grand 
feast, to which all the most celebrated warriors of the 
nation are invited ; at this entertainment they have 
the war dance, to the sound of a sort of a kettle 
drum. The warriors are seated in two rows in the 
house, and each rises up in his turn, and sings of the 
great actions which he has himself performed, and 
the deeds of his ancestors ; this is always accompa¬ 
nied with a dance, and the persons present join in a 
chorus. They exaggerate the injuries they have at 
any time received from their enemies, extol their 
own glory, and by these means work up the spirits 
of the whole party to a high pitch of warlike enthu¬ 
siasm. 

They come to these dances with their faces painted 
in a frightful manner, which is also the case when 
they go to war, in order to make themselves terrible 
to their enemies. On the next day they march out 
with much formality, dressed in the finest apparel, 
and in their march observe a profound silence. The 
women follow with their old clothes, and by them 
they send back their finery in which they marched 
from the castle. Before they leave the place where 
the clothes are exchanged, they alw^ays peel a large 
piece of the bark of some great tree ; upon the smooth 
side they draw figures of their canoes, and emblems 


200 Religion of the Canada Indians, 

of the nations against which the expedition is de- 

si gned. 

When the expedition is over, they stop at the same 
place in their return, and on the same, or an adjoin¬ 
ing tree, they figure, in their rude style of painting, 
the result of the warfare, the number of the enemy 
slain, and prisoners taken. These trees are the an¬ 
nals, or rather the trophies of the Five Nations ; and 
by them, and their war songs, they preserve the histo¬ 
ry of their great achievements. 

After their prisoners are secured, they never offer 
them the least ill treatment; but, on the contrary, 
will rather starve themselves than suffer them to 
want. They are presented, when they arrive at their 
journey’s end, to those who have lost any relation in 
that or any former enterprize. If the captives are 
accepted, there is an end to all their trouble ; they 
are dressed as fine as possible, are made absolutely 
free, except to return to their own country, and en¬ 
joy all the privileges the person had in whose place 
they are accepted. Those of them who have not the 
good fortune to insure the affections of the victors 
are given up, to satiate their revenge. 

The hospitality of the Indians is no less remarka¬ 
ble than their other virtues ; as soon as any stranger 
comes they are sure to offer him victuals. If there 
be several in company, and they come from a con¬ 
siderable distance, one of their best houses is fitted 
up for their entertainment. Their civility extends to 
the furnishing/ the guests with every thing that they 
suppose will be agreeable to them. 

Of their Religion, 

It has been a matter of considerable doubt, what 
religion these tribes of Indians profess ; they have no 
kind of Public worship, but do not seem deficient in 
the belief of a Supreme Being, whom they consider 


Inhabitants of North America. 201 

as the preserver, sustainer, and master of the uni¬ 
verse. Some of their funeral rites seem to be form¬ 
ed upon the notion of a future state of existence.— 
They make a large round hole, in which the body 
can be placed upright; it is then covered with tim¬ 
ber, to support the earth which they lay over it. They 
always dress the corpse in all its finery, and put wam¬ 
pum and other things in the grave with it; and the 
relations do not suffer grass to grow on the tomb, 
but frequently visit it with lamentations. 

They are superstitious in observing omens and 
dreams; they seem to stand in great awe of the owl, 
and are highly displeased, if any person imitate the 
hooting of that bird in the night. We are informed 
by an officer, who was witness of the scene, that a 
boy of one of the westward nations having died, the 
parents made a regular pile of split wood, laid the 
body upon it, and burnt it; while the pile was burn¬ 
ing, they stood gravely looking on, without any emo¬ 
tions of grief; but when it was consumed, they gath¬ 
ered up the bones, with many tears, put them into a 
box, and carried them away. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE UNITED 
STATES OF NORTH AMERICA. 

Of their Persons and general Character^ 

THE great and sudden variation of the weathe** 
affects very sensibly the health of the inhabiunts of 
the United States, as they are not sufficiently careful 
to guard against its vicisitudes. People become old 
in America sooner than in Europe. Upon females 
the influence of the climate is still more sensible. 
When young they are generally beautiful, and more 
VOL. II. T. 




202 Character^ CsPc. of the Inhabitants 
particularly so at Philadelphia: but after twenty 
years of age, they begin to lose their fresh colour, and 
at twenty five some of them might be taken for Eu¬ 
ropeans of forty. There are some instances never¬ 
theless, of natives who have lived to a great age, to 
70, 80, and 90, years with remarkable health and 
spirits. 

The number of children which die in infancy is 
proportionably greater than in Europe. Colds, hoop¬ 
ing-coughs, and disorders of the throat and bowels, 
take off great multitudes. 

The manners and domestic economy of the inhabit¬ 
ants differ only in a few trifling shades from those of 
Great Britain ; for although the population is compos¬ 
ed of adventurers from every nation in Europe, the 
original settlers being principaliy English, to their 
customs and manners, as well as laws and language, 
successive emigrants have conformed in a great de¬ 
gree. The possession and usage of slaves have in¬ 
troduced the only considerable difference, that com¬ 
mands the attention of a traveller, and this difference 
is most observable in the southern states. 

The traits of character common to all are, an ar¬ 
dour for enterprize, courage, an high sense of liberty, 
and an advantageous opinion of themselves. Ha¬ 
bituated to business from their infancy, having for 
the most part made their fortune by their labour, in¬ 
dustry has not become repugnant even to those in 
the most easy circumstances: while they wish to en¬ 
joy the sweets of life, they do not regard them as ab¬ 
solute wants ; they know how to dispense with them, 
and to quit them, whenever their interest requires it; 
they can forget them, whenever a reverse of fortune 
takes them away ; and they know how to run after for¬ 
tune when she escapes them, for the desire of riches 
is their ruling passion. 

It has been asserted that the New World could not 
produce genius and talents like the Old, which has 


of the United States of America, 203 
been effectually controverted by a multitude of exam¬ 
ples of men, who, without education, have invented 
and constructed works, particularly in mechanics, 
worthy of the best workmen in Europe. It is, how¬ 
ever, certain that the number of men distinguished 
for science and literature is proportionably less than 
in the nations of Europe ; the means of instruction 
are less complete ; and the ways of acquiring wealth, 
or a competence, more numerous and easy j which 
will account for their inferiority in literature to the 
Europeans. 

Literature and the Sciences have met with consid¬ 
erable public as well as private encouragement.—" 
Grammar schools, academies, colleges, and universi¬ 
ties, are founded in several districts of the Union, 
and many of them are endowed with liberal funds by 
the State Legislatures. The principal universities 
are, that of Cambridge, in the state of Massachusetts, 
and those of New-York and Philadelphia. 

Education is generally modelled after the system 
adopted in England. In most of the eminent public 
seminaries, as well as in many private schools, Latin 
and Greek, and in some few of them Hebrew, are 
taught; together with the most fashionable modern 
languages of Europe. Mathematical and philosophi¬ 
cal studies are also encouraged. The principles of 
English Grammar are taught with peculiar attention, 
in the most common English schools. Female Acad¬ 
emies and Boarding-schools meet with extensive pat¬ 
ronage in all the principal States some of them con¬ 
tain no less than fifty or sixty boarders. Nor is the 
education of poor children neglected. In some parts of 
the Union there are public funds appropriated to de¬ 
fray the expence, and in ethers it is paid by a general 
tax on the people. There is no part of the world, 
perhaps, in which more money has been expended in 
the education of black children. The compensation 
paid to tutors of virtuous character and adequate tal- 


204 Character^ £i?c. of the Inhabitants 
ents is very liberal in all the principal cities. Some 
of them have been enabled thereby to save a com¬ 
fortable independence, before old age has overtaken 
them. In the villages, and among the farmers, the 
remuneration of teachers is rather scanty. 

All the classical authors in the English language, and 
some in the Greek and Latin, have been reprinted in 
America, and many of them with elegance and correct¬ 
ness. Some prose-writers of conspicuous merit have 
arisen in the United States; but poetry has not been 
cultivated with equal success. Literary societies pub¬ 
lish their lucubrations ; while Magazines and News¬ 
papers, without number, contribute to the diffusion of 
useful knowledge ; though it must be confessed that 
the latter are too much devoted to the dissemination 
of factious principles and a party spirit. 

The most common vice of the inferior class of the 
American people is drunkenness. The use which 
they make of spirituous liquors, in preference to those 
of beer, cider, and wine, greatly aids this disposition. 
In other respects, there are certainly fewer crimes 
committed in America than among an equal number 
of people in Europe ; and the cause of it may be 
found in the easy circumstances of the people, the 
first source of the morality of nations. Assassina¬ 
tions are not unknown, but they are very rare ; and 
thefts, especially in the country, are not frequent, 
though public confidence be the only safeguard of 
property. Forgery is, on account of the great quantity 
of paper-money, perhaps the most common offence 
against the well-being of society. But this evil was 
very inconsiderable before their establishment of nu¬ 
merous public banks. 

Although the Americans are eager in getting mo¬ 
ney, yet they are by no means avaricious. Without 
profuseness, or forgetting the interests of their fami¬ 
lies, they are very generous to the unfortunate, and 
hospitable to the stranger. 


of the United States of America. 205 

Every private individual in all the United States 
of America has an entire liberty of conscience.— 
There are. however, some States, in which the con¬ 
stitution requires every citizen entering upon the le¬ 
gislative or executive function to swear, “ That he 
believes in one God, in a future state of rewards and 
punishment; in the scriptures of the Old and New 
Testaments, and that he professes the Protestant re¬ 
ligion.” 

The inferior classes of workmen, down to those 
who labour, in the ports, do not appear to be so rustic 
in America as they generally are in the Old World: 
they are much better paid than workmen of the same 
class in Europe, by which they are enabled to live 
well- There is hardly a labouring family which does 
not eat meat twice a day, and drink tea or coffee; 
the proverbial wish of having a chicken in the pot 
is more than accomplished in America. The shop¬ 
keeper and the artisan live much better here than in 
Europe ,* and the table of a family in easy circumstan¬ 
ces, living upon their income, is not better served in 
England and France than the mechanic is in the large 
towns of America. 

Though there be no distinctions acknowledged by 
the lavv^ in the United States, fortune and the nature 
of professions form different classes. The merchants, 
lawyers, land-owners, physicians, and clergy, form 
the frst class : farmers and artisans may be includ¬ 
ed in the second; and the third class is composed of 
workmen, who let themselves by the day, by the 
month, &c. 

In public amusements these classes do not mix; 
and yet, except the labourer in the ports, and the 
common sailor, every one calls himself, and is styled 
by others, a gentleman. The white American is 
ashamed of the situation of a domestic, so that there 
are comparatively very few native Americans in the 
state of domestic servants. The class of servants is 

T 2 , 


206 Religion^ of the inhabitants 
composed of Irish, Germans, negroes, and mulattoes; 
and as soon as the two first have acquired a little 
money, they quit that station, and establish them¬ 
selves upon land or in a small trade. But it is not 
so uncommon to see young women of good families 
in the situation of servants during their youth. 

In dress, the English fashionjs are as faithfully 
copied as possible. Their houses, their furniture, 
their carriages, are all English. The cookery is also 
English. There are great dinners, numerous tea 
parties, and some few societies. Tea assemblies are 
a fund of amusement for the ladies. Balls and plays 
are much frequented. 

The women every where possess, in the highest de¬ 
gree, the domestic virtues; they have more sweet¬ 
ness, more goodness, at least as much courage, but 
more sensibility, than the men. Good wives and 
good mothers, their husbands and their children en¬ 
gage their whole attention, and their household af¬ 
fairs occupy all their time and cares; destined by the 
manners of their country to this domestic life, their 
education is formed' to suit their expectations or 
prospects. 

The Americans marry young : the occasion which 
the young men have for a wife to assist them in their 
labours conduces to early marriages, and great purity 
of manners. But the wife who dies is readily repla¬ 
ced by another. She is a necessary frieiKl, and the 
very soul of the family; she is an indispensable re¬ 
source for domestic affairs; she is an assiduous com- 
,panion, and renders home pleasant in those parts of 
the country where neighbours are very scarce, and 
where the children soon quit the paternal abode. 

The Religion of the United States is the Christian 
religion, without any peculiar power or privilege an¬ 
nexed to any of its numerous sects. The Federal 
Constitution is entirely silent on the subject of reli¬ 
gion. Every man is admissible to office in the Gene- 


of the United States of America. 207 
ral Government, that is duly qualified in other re¬ 
spects. No evil hath yet arisen from this universal 
toleration and equality. On the contrary, they have 
exhibited to the world an incontestible proof that civil 
government may be supported, without the aid of an 
established church. Religious rancour, the general 
consequence of religious disputes, is hardly known in 
these regions of universal toleration. No man reckons 
himself bound to extirpate the weeds from his neigh¬ 
bour’s garden. All that is noxious of this kind is left 
to God, the “ Good Husbandman,’* to destroy, 
when and how to his infinite wisdom it shall seem 
most meet.—Of the various religious societies, scat¬ 
tered through these extensive territories, the Pres¬ 
byterians and Congregationalists are perhaps the most 
numerons. There are many large congregations of 
Episcopalians, Friends, Baptists ; but the Methodists 
are the most growing sect ; because perhaps their 
preachers are the most zealous labourers. 


DESCRIPTION OP THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF SEVERAL TRIBES OF INDIANS ON 
THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST OF AMERICA. 

Of the Slave and Dog-ribbed^ and Beaver Indians, 

THESE people are ugly, meagre, and an ill-form¬ 
ed race, particularly about the legs, which by their 
habitually almost roasting themselves by the fire, are 
generally covered with scabs. Many of them appear 
to be in an unhealthy state, owing probably to their 
natural filthiness. They are of moderate stature, 
and of a fairer complexion than the generality of In¬ 
dians who are natives of warmer climates. 

The men have two double lines, either black or 
blue, tattooed upon each cheek, from the ear to the 




208 Of the Dog-ribbed and Beaver Indians, 
nose. The gristle of the latter is perforated to admit 
a goose quill, or a small piece of wood to be passed 
through the orifice. Their clothing is made of the 
dressed skins of rein-deer. 

Their lodges are of a very simple structure : a few 
poles supported by a fork, and forming a semi-circle 
at the bottom, with branches or bark for a covering, 
constitute the whole of their native architecture.— 
They build two of these huts facing one another, and 
make a fire between them. They make their own 
nets, and weapons for hunting, such as bows, arrows, 
spears, daggers, &c. Their canoes are small, pointed 
at both ends, flat-bottomed, and covered in the fore¬ 
part. They are made so light, that the man whom 
one of these vessels bears on the water can, in return, 
carry it over land without difficulty. 

When the father of a family takes a journey, he 
cuts off a lock of hair, and having divided it into se¬ 
veral parts, he fastens one of them to the hair, on 
the upper patt of his wife’s head, blowing on it three 
times with all the violence in his power, and uttering 
certain words. The others he fastens with the same 
formalities on the heads of his children. 

Several tribes of the American Indians conclude 
every business, however serious and important, by 
dancing, in which old and young join, till their 
strength is exhausted ; this exercise they accompany 
with loud imitations of the various noises produced 
by the reindeer, the bear and the wolf. 

If they are unwilling to perform any task demand¬ 
ed of them, they will all, at one and the same mo¬ 
ment pretend to be sick. Sir A. Mackenzie, speak¬ 
ing of these people, observes, that he was under the 
necessity of shooting one of their dogs. When they 
heard the report of the pistol, they were seized with 
a general alarm, and the women took their children 
on their backs, and ran into the woods. The woman 
to whom the dog had belonged was very much af- 


Of the Dog-ribhed^ and Beaver Indians* 209 
fected, and declared the loss of five children during 
the preceding winter had not affected her so much 
as the death of this animal ; but her grief was not of 
very long duration; a few beads, &c. assuaged her 
sorrow; but as they can without difficulty get rid of 
affiiction, they can with equal ease assume it, and 
feign sickness if it be necessary, with the same ver^ 
satility. 

They are afflicted with but few diseases, and their 
only remedies consist in binding the temples, procur¬ 
ing perspiration, singing and blowing on the sick per¬ 
son, When death overtakes them, their property is 
sacrificed and destroyed ; nor is there any want of 
lamentation and weeping on such occasions; the near 
relations blacken their faces, and sometimes cut off 
the hair, and pierce their arms with knives and ar¬ 
rows. The grief of the females is carried to still 
greater excess; they not only cut their hair, and cry 
and howl, but will sometimes Vv ith the utmost delibe¬ 
ration, employ sharp instruments to separate the nail 
from the finger, and then force back the flesh beyond 
the first joint, which they immediately amputate.— 
But this extraordinary mark of affliction is only dis¬ 
played on the death of a favourite son, an husband, 
or a father. Many of the old women have so often 
repeated this ceremony, that they have not a com¬ 
plete finger left on either hand. The women renew 
their lamentations at the graves of their departed re¬ 
lations for a long succession of years. 

Sir A. Mackenzie gives a pleasing picture of the 
hospitality of some of the American Indians. ‘‘My 
men,” says he, “were anxious to stop for the night; 
indeed, the fatigue they had suffered justified the 
proposal; but the anxiety of my mind impelled me 
forward; they continued to follow me, till 1 found 
myself at the edge of the woods ; and, notwithstand¬ 
ing the remonstrances that were made, I proceeded, 
feeling rather than seeing my way, till I arrived at 


210 Hospitality of the Indians, 

an house, and soon discovered several fires in small 
huts, with people busily employed in cooking their 
fish. I walked into one of them without the least 
ceremony, threw down my burden, and, after shaking 
hands with some of the people, sat down upon it.— 
They received me with no appearance of surprize, 
but soon made signs for me to go up to the large 
house, which was erected on upright posts, at some 
distance from the ground. A broad piece of timber 
with steps cut in it led to the scaffolding even with 
the floor, and by this kind of ladder I entered the 
house at one end, and having passed three fires, at 
equal distances, in the middle of the building, I was 
received by several people, sitting upon a very wide 
board. I shook hands with them, and seated myself 
beside a man, the dignity of whose countenance in¬ 
duced me to give him that preference. I soon dis¬ 
covered one of my guides seated a little above me, 
with a neat mat spread before him, which I supposed 
to be the place of honour, and appropriated to stran¬ 
gers. In a short time my people arrived, and placed 
themselves near me, when the man, by whom f sat, 
immediately rose, and fetched, from behind a plank 
of about four feet wide, a quantity of roasted salmon. 
The same plank served also as a skreen for the beds, 
to which the women and children were already re¬ 
tired. The signs of our protector seemed to denote, 
that we might sleep in the house, but as we did not 
perfectly understand him, I thought it prudent, from 
the fear of giving ojffence, to order the men to make 
a fire without that we might sleep by it. When he 
observed our design, he placed boards for us, that we 
might not take our repose on the bare ground, and or¬ 
dered a fire to be prepared for us. We had not been 
seated long round it, when we received a large dish of 
salmon roes, pounded fine and beat up with water, so 
as to have the appearance of cream. Another dish 
soon followed, the principal article of which was alst) 


Their Treatment of the Sick, 211 

salmon roes, with a large proportion of gooseber¬ 
ries, and an herb that appeared like sorrel. Having 
been regaled with these delicacies, for such they were 
considered by that hospitable spirit which provided 
them, we laid ourselves down to rest, with no other 
canopy than the sky, but I never enjoyed a more 
sound and refreshing rest, though I had a board for 
my bed, and a billet for my pillow.” 

These people indulge an extreme superstition re* 
specting their fish, as it is apparently their only ani¬ 
mal food. Flesh they never taste ; and one of their 
dogs having picked and swallowed part of a bone 
which we had left, was beaten by his master till he 
had disgorged it. One of Mr. Mackenzie’s people 
having thrown a bone of the deer in the river, a na¬ 
tive who had observed the circumstance immediately 
dived and brought it up, and having consigned it to 
the fire, instantly proceeded to wash his polluted 
hands. 


Of their Treatment of the Sick, 

At an early hour this morning,” says Sir A. Mac¬ 
kenzie, “ I was visited by the chief, in company with 
his son. The former complained of a pain in the 
breast; to relieve his suffering, 1 gave him a few 
drops of Turlington’s balsam, on a piece of sugar. 
When he had taken my medicine, he requested me 
to follow him, and conducted me to a shed where se¬ 
veral people were assembled round a sick man, who 
was another of his sons. They immediately uncov¬ 
ered him, and shewed me a violent ulcer in the small 
of his back, in the foulest state that can be imagined. 
One of his knees was afflicted in the same manner. 
This unhappy man was reduced to a skeleton, and 
from his appearance was drawing near to an end of his 
pains. They requested that I would touch him, and 
his father was very urgent with me to administer me- 


212 'I heir Treatment of the Sick. 

dicine ; but he was in so dangerous a state, that I 
thought it prudent to yield no farther to the importu¬ 
nities, than to give the sick person a few drops of 
Turlington’s balsam in some water. I therefore left 
them, but was soon called back by the loud lamenta* 
tions of the women, and was rather apprehensive 
that some inconvenience might result from noncom¬ 
pliance with the chief’s request. On my return I 
found the native physicians busy in practising their 
skill and art on the patient. They blew on him, and 
then whistled; at times they pressed their extended 
fingers with all their strength on his stomach ; they 
also put their fore fingers doubled into his mouth, 
and spouted water from their own with great violence 
into his face. To support these operations the 
wretched sufferer was held up in a sitting posture; 
and when they were concluded^ he was laid down 
and covered with a new robe made of the skin of 
lynx. I had observed that his belly and breast were 
covered with scars, and I understood that they were 
caused by a custom prevalent among them of apply¬ 
ing pieces of lighted touchwood to their flesh, in or¬ 
der to relieve pain or demonstrate their courage.— 
He was now placed on a broad plank, and carried by 
six men into the woods, where 1 was invited to ac¬ 
company them. I could not conjecture what would 
be the end of this ceremony, particularly as I saw 
one man carry fire, another an axe, and a third dry 
wood. I was, indeed, disposed to suspect, that, as it 
was their custom to burn the dead, they intended to 
relieve the poor man from his pain, and perform the 
sad last duty of surviving affection. When they had 
advanced a short distance into the wood, they laid 
him upon a clear spot, and kindled a fire against his 
back ; the physician then began to scarify the ulcer 
with a very blunt instrument, the cruel pain of which 
operation the patient bore with incredible resolution ; 
but he survived it a short time only. 





Noith American Indians, 











































































( 213 ) 

Of the Knisteneaux Indiana. 

These people are spread over a vast extent oi 
country. Their language is the same as that of those 
who inhabit the coast of British America on the At¬ 
lantic, with the exception of the Esqimaux, and con¬ 
tinues along the coast of Labrador, and the gulph and 
banks of St. Lawrence, to Montreal. 

They are of moderate stature, well proportioned, 
and of great activity. Both sexes manifest a dispo¬ 
sition to pluck the hair from every part of the body. 
Their eyes are black, and penetrating; their counte¬ 
nance open and agreeable; and it is a principle ob¬ 
ject of their vanity to give every possible decoration 
of their persons. A material article in their toilettes 
is Vermillion, which is contrasted with their native 
blue, white, and brown earths, to which charcoal is 
frequently added. 

Their dress is simple and commodious. Their 
head-dresses are composed of the feathers of the 
swan, the eagle, and other birds. The teeth, horns, 
and claws of different animals are also the occasional 
ornaments of the head and neck. The making ©f 
every article of dress belongs to the occupation of 
the females, who, though by no means inattentive to 
the decoration of their own persons, appear to have 
a still greater degree of pride in attending to the ap¬ 
pearance of the men whose faces are painted with 
more care than those of the women. 

When a young man marries, he immediately gdes 
to live with the father and mother of the wife, who 
treat him as a perfect stranger, till after the birth of 
his first child : he then attaches himself more to them 
than his own parents, and his wife no longer gives 
him any other denomination than that of the father of 
her child. 

The funeral rites begin, like all other solemn cere- 

VOL. II. u 


214- Of the Knisteneaux Indiam. 

monials with smoking, and are concluded with a 
feast. The body is dressed in the best habiliments 
possessed by the deceased, or his relations, and is 
then deposited in a grave lined with branches; some 
domestic utensils are placed on it, and a kind of 
canopy erected over it. During this ceremony, great 
lamentations are made, and if the departed person is 
very much regretted, the near relations cut off their 
hair, pierce the fleshy part of their thighs and arms 
with arrows, knives, &c. and blacken their faces with 
charcoal. The whole of the property belonging to 
the departed person is destroyed, and the relations 
take in exchange for the wearing apparrel any rags 
that will cover their nakedness. The feast given on 
the occasion, which is repeated annually, is accom¬ 
panied with eulogia on the deceased, and without any 
acts of ferocity. On the tomb are carved or painted, 
the symbols of his tribe, which are taken from the 
different animals of the country. 

If the tribe feel themselves called upon to go to 
war, the elders convene the people in order to know 
the general opinion. If this be for war, the chief 
publishes his intention to smoke in the sacred stem, 
at a certain period, to which solemnity, meditation 
and fasting are required as preparatory ceremonials. 
When the people are thus assembled, the chief en¬ 
larges on the necessity of the measures proposed, in¬ 
vites those who are willing to follow him to smoke 
out of the sacred stem, which is considered as a to¬ 
ken of enrolment. Every individual who attends 
these meetings brings something with him as a to¬ 
ken of his warlike intention, or as an object of sacri¬ 
fice, which, when the assembly dissolves, is suspend¬ 
ed from poles near the place of council. 

They have frequent feasts, and particular circum¬ 
stances-never fail to produce them ; such as tedious 
illness, long fasting, &c. On these occasions it is 
usual for the person who means to give the entertain^ 


Of the Knisteneaux Indians* 215 

ment to announce his design, on a certain day, of 
opening his medecine bag, and smoking out of his 
sacred stem. This declaration is considered as a sa¬ 
cred vow that cannot be broken. In the spring and 
autumn they engage in very long and solemn cere¬ 
monies, when dogs are offered as sacrifices; those 
which are fat and milk-white are preferred. The 
scene of these ceremonies is in the most conspicu¬ 
ous situation, in order that travellers may be induced 
to make their offerings at the same time. If, on any 
of these occasions, a person pass by, and be in real 
want of any thing that is displayed as an offering, he 
has a right to take it, provided he replaces it with 
some article he can spare, though it be of far inferior 
value; but to take any thing wantonly is considered 
as a sacrilegious act, and ** highly insulting to the 
great Master of Life,’’ to use their own expression, 
who is the sacred object of their devotion. 

The scene of private sacrifice is the lodge of the 
person who performs it, which is prepared for that 
purpose by removing every thing away, and spread¬ 
ing green branches on the floor. A new hearth is 
made, and a fire lighted. The owner of the dwell¬ 
ing remains alone in it j and begins the ceremony by 
spreading a new piece of cloth, on which he opens 
his medicine bag, and exposes its contents, consist¬ 
ing of various articles. The principal of them is a 
kind of household god, which is a carved image about 
eight inches long, the object of the most pious re¬ 
gard. Besides this, there is his war-cap, decorated 
with feathers, and a quill for every enemy whom the 
owner of it has slain in battle. The remaining con¬ 
tents of the bag are, pieces of Brazil tobacco, several 
roots and simples, which are in great estimation for 
their medicinal qualities, and a pipe. These articles 
being all exposed, and the stem resting upon two 
forks, the master of the lodge sends for the person 
he most esteems, who sits down opposite to him ; 


216 Of the Knisteneaux Indians, 

the pipe is then filled and fixed to the stem. The 
company assemble, and the most religious awe per¬ 
vades the whole. The assistant takes the pipe, which 
he lights, and presents to the -officiating person, who 
receives it standing, and holds it between both hands. 
He then turns himself to the east, and draws a few 
whiffs, which he blows to that point. The same cere¬ 
mony he observes to the other three quarters, with 
his eyes directed upwards : he then makes a speech 
to explain the design of their being called together, 
and concludes with thanksgivings and prayers to the 
Master of Life. He then sits down, and the whole 
company declare their approbation and thanks by ut¬ 
tering the word ho^ with an emphatic prolongation of 
the last letter. 

These rites precede every matter of great impor¬ 
tance ; if a chief is anxious to know the disposition 
of his people, he announces his intention of opening 
his medicine bag, and smoking the sacred stem, and 
no man who entertains a grudge against any of the 
party thus assembled can smoke with the sacred stem, 
as that ceremony dissipates all difference, and is nev¬ 
er violated. If a contract be entered into and sol¬ 
emnized by the ceremony of smoking, it never fails 
of being faithfully fulfilled. If a person, previously 
to a journey, leaves the sacred stem as a pledge of his 
return, no consideration whatever, will prevent him 
from executing his engagement. 

The chief, when he proposes to make a feast, sends 
quills, or small pieces of wood, as tokens of invitation 
to such as he wishes to partake of it. At the appoint¬ 
ed time, the guests arrive, each bringing a dish or 
platter, and a knife, and take their seats on the side 
of the chief, who receives them, sitting according to 
their respective ages. The pipe is then lighted, and 
he makes an equal division of every thing that is pro¬ 
vided. While the company are enjoying their meal, 
the chief sings, and accompanies his song with the 


Of the Chepewyan Indians, 217 

tambourin, or shishiquoi, or rattle. The guest who 
has first eaten his portion is considered as the most 
distinguished person. If there should be any who 
cannot finish the whole of their mess, they endeavour 
to prevail on some of their friends to eat it for them, 
who are rewarded for their assistance with amunition 
and tobacco. At these feasts a small quantity of meat 
or drink is sacrificed, before they begin to eat, by 
throwing it into the fire, or on the earth. 

These festivals differ according to circumstances \ 
sometimes each man’s portion is no more than he 
can dispatch in a couple of hours \ at other times the 
quantity is sufficient to supply each of them with 
food for a week, though it must be devoured in a 
day. It is then very difficult to procure substitutes, 
and the whole must be eaten, whatever time it may 
require. Great care is always taken that the bones 
may be burned, as it would be considered as a pro¬ 
fanation were the dogs permitted to touch them. 


Of the Chepewyan Indians, 

The notion which these people entertain of the 
creation is of a very singular nature. They believe, 
that at first the globe was one vast and entire ocean, 
inhabited by no living creature, except a mighty bird, 
whose eyes were fire, whuse glances were lightning, 
and the clapping of whose wings were thunder. On 
his descent to the ocean, touching it, the earth in- 
tantly rose, and remained on the surface of the wa¬ 
ters. This omnipotent bird then called forth all the 
variety of animals from the earth, except the Che- 
pewyans, who were produced from a dog, which is the 
occasion of their aversion to the flesh of that animal, 
as well as the people who eat it. 

'rhis tradition proceeds to relate that the great 
bird having finished his work, made an arrow, which 
u 2 


218 Chepewyan Indians, 

was to be preserved with great care, and to remain 
untouched; but that the Chepewyans were so devoid 
of understanding as to carry it away, from which 
time the bird has never since appeared. 

According to another tradition,they originally came 
from another country, inhabited by very wicked peo¬ 
ple ; and had traversed a great lake, which was nar¬ 
row, shallow, and full of islands, where they had suf¬ 
fered great misery, it being always winter, with ice 
and deep snow. They believe, also, that in ancient 
times their ancestors lived till their feet were worn 
out with walking, and their throats with eating.— 
They describe a deluge; when the waters spread 
over the whole earth, except the highest mountains, 
on the tops of which they preserved themselves. 

They believe that immediately after death they 
pass into another world, where they arrive at a large 
river, on which they embark in a stone canoe, and 
that a gentle current bears them on to an extensive 
lake, in the centre of which is a most beautiful isl¬ 
and ; and that in view of this delightful abode, they 
receive that judgment for their conduct during life, 
terminates their final state and unalterable allotment. 

If their good actions are declared to predominate, 
they are landed upon the island, where there is no 
end to their happiness. But if their bad actions 
weigh down the balance, the stone canoe sinks at 
once, and leaves them up to their chin in water, to 
behold and regret the rewards enjoyed by the good, 
and eternally struggling, but with unavailing endeav¬ 
ours to reach the blissful island, from which they are 
excluded for ever. 

Among many of the Indian tribes, the small-pox is 
of all diseases, the most fatal and destructive to life. 
The melancholly picture drawn by Sir A. Mackenzie 
on this subject must interest the feelings of every read¬ 
er, possessing but the slighest degree of humanity, 
speaking of the attempt made by some Indian na- 


Chepewyan Indians* 119 

tions to extirpate from their country European trad¬ 
ers ; he says, 

-“ Nothing but the greatest calamity that could 

have befallen the natives, saved the traders from de¬ 
struction ; this was the small-pox, which spread its 
destructive and desolating power, as fire consumes 
the dry grass of the field. The fatal infection spread 
around with a baneful rapidity, which no flight could 
escape, and with a fatal effect, that nothing could re¬ 
sist. It destroyed, with its pestilential breath, whole 
families and tribes ; and the horrid scene presented, 
to those who had the melancholy and afflicting op¬ 
portunity of beholding it, a combination of the dead, 
the dying, and such, as to avoid the horrid fate of 
their friends around, seemed prepared to disappoint 
the plague of its prey, by terminating their own ex¬ 
istence. 

“The habits and lives of these devoted people, 
which provided not to day for the wants of to-mor¬ 
row, must have heightened the pains of such an af¬ 
fliction, by leaving them not only without remedy, 
but even without alleviation. Nought was left them 
but to submit in agony and despair. 

“ To aggravate the picture, if aggravation were 
possible, may be added the putrid carcasses, which 
the wolves, with a furious voracity, dragged forth 
from the huts, or which'were mangled within them 
by dogs, whose hunger was satisfied with the disfigur¬ 
ed remains of their masters. Nor was it uncommon 
for the father of a family, whom the infection had 
not reached, to call them around him, to represent 
the cruel sufferings and horrid fate of their relations, 
from the influence of some evil spirit who was pre¬ 
paring to extirpate their race, and to incite them to 
baffle death, with all its horrors, by their own pon¬ 
iards. At the same time, if their hearts failed them 
in this necessary act, he was himself ready to per¬ 
form the deed of mercy with his own hand, as the 


220 Of the Mexicans. 

last act of his affection, and instantly to follow them 

to the common place of rest and refuge from human 


evil.” 


MEXICO. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE MEXICANS. 

THE Mexicans are of a good stature, generally 
exceeding rather than falling short of the middle-size, 
and well-proportioned in all their limbs; they have 
good complexions, narrow foreheads, black eyes, 
clean, firm, regular, white, teeth j thick, black, and 
glossy hair. Their skin is of an olive colour. There 
is scarcely a nation upon earth in which there are 
fewer persons deformed, and it would be more diffi¬ 
cult to find a single hump-backed, lame, or squinting 
man, amongst a thousand M«xicans, than among a 
a hundred of any other nation. Their appearance 
neither engages nor disgusts; but among the young 
women of Mexico, there are many very fair and 
beautiful. 

The Mexicans have ever been moderate in eating, 
but their passion for strong liquors is carried to the 
greatest excess. Formerly they were kept within 
bounds by the severity of the laws ; but now drunk¬ 
enness is unpunished, one half of the people seem to 
have lost their senses, and to this may be ascribed 
the havoc that is made among them by epidemical 
disorders. Their understandings are fitted for every 
kind of science, as facts have abundantly shewn. Of 
the Mexicans who have had an opportunity of engag¬ 
ing in the pursuits of learning, which is but a small 
number, as the greatest part of the people are always 




Marriages and Rites of the Mexicans, 221 
employed in the public or private works, good mathe¬ 
maticians and architects have been known. 

The minds of the Mexicans are affected by the 
same variety of passions with those of other nations, 
but not in an equal degree. They seldom exhibit 
those transports of anger, or those phrenzies of love^ 
which are so common in other countries. They 
are slow, but veiy steady, and exhibit great proofs 
of perseverance in works which require time and 
long attention. 

Generosity and perfect disinterestedness are the 
principal features of their character. Gold with the 
Mexicans has not the value which it enjoys else¬ 
where. They give without reluctance what has cost 
them the utmost labour to acquire. 

Of the Marriages and Funeral Rites of the Mexicans, 

When a son arrives at the age capable of bearing 
the charges of the marriage state, a suitable wife is 
singled out for him ; but before the union can be 
concluded on, the diviners are consulted, and accor¬ 
ding to their predictions the match is abandoned 
or pursued. If they predict happiness to the couple, 
the young girl is demanded of her parents by certain 
women, styled solicitors, who are among the most 
respectable amongst the kindred of the youth. The 
first time that these women go to the house of the 
damsel is at midnight, carrying with them presents, 
and demanding her in the most humble aad respect¬ 
ful terms. The first demand is always refused.— 
The second is made with various arguments as to 
the rank and fortune of the youth, to which the pa¬ 
rents of the young woman give a more favourable 
answer. The female solicitors return no more. A 
favourable answer being at last obtained, and a day 
appoined for the nuptials, the young woman, after a 
proper exhortation from her parents, is conducted to 


222 Marriages and Rites of the Mexicans. 
the house of her father-in-law; if noble she is car¬ 
ried in a litter. The bridegroom and his relations 
receive her at the gate of the house, with four torches 
borne by four women. As soon as the bride and 
bridegroom meet, they offer incense to one another. 
They then enter the hall, and sit down on a new and 
curiously wrought mat spread in the middle of the 
chamber, and close to the fire, when a priest ties part 
of the gown of the bride to the mantle of the bride¬ 
groom, and in this ceremony the matrimonial con¬ 
tract chiefly consists. They offer sacrifice to their 
gods, and exchange presents with one another. A 
feast follows, of which all their friends partake, and 
when the guests are exhilarated with wine, they go 
out and dance in the open air, but the newly married 
couple retire within the house, in which they shut 
themselves for four days, spending the time in prayer 
and fasting. At the end of these days they are con¬ 
sidered as man and wife, and having dressed them¬ 
selves with all the ornaments common upon such oc¬ 
casions, the ceremony is concluded, by making pres¬ 
ents of dresses to the guests, proportioned to the cir¬ 
cumstances of the married pair ; and on the same 
day they carry to the temple the mats, sheets, canes, 
and eatables, which have been presented to the 
idols. 

As soon as a person dies, certain masters of the 
funeral ceremonies are called in, who are generally 
men advanced in years. They cut a number of pieces 
of paper, with which they dress the dead body, and 
sprinkle the head with a glass of water, saying, that 
this.' was the water used in the time of life. They 
then dress the corpse in a habit suitable to the rank, 
wealth, and circumstances attending the death of the 
party. If the deceased had been a warrior, they 
clothe him in one sort of habit; if a merchant in an¬ 
other ; if an artist, in that of the protecting god of his 
art; if a drunkard, in the habit of the god of wine. 


Funeral Rites of the Mexicans, 222 

With the habit, they give the dead a jug of water, 
and different pieces of paper, with directions for the 
use of each. With the first they say, By means of 
this you will pass without danger between the two 
mountains which fight against each other.'^ With 
the second he is told, *‘that he will walk without ob¬ 
struction along the road which is defended by the 
great serpentand so of the rest. 

They kill a domestic quadruped, resembling a lit¬ 
tle dog, to accompany the deceased on his journey to 
. the other world. They fix a string about its neck, 
, believing it necessary to enable it to pass the deep 
river of new waters. They burn it with or bury the 
body of its master, according to the kind of death of 
which he died. While the masters of the ceremo¬ 
nies are lighting up the fire in which the body is to 
be burned, the other priests sing some melancholy 
strains. When the body is consumed, they gather 
the ashes in an earthen pot, among which, according 
; to the cricumstances of the deceased, they put a gem 
j of more or less value, which they believe will serve 
I him as a heart in the other world. They bury this 
I earthen pot in a deep ditch, and at the end of four- 
I score days make oblations of bread and wine. 

, The funeral of a king is attended with ceremonies 
of the same kind, only in a style much more magni¬ 
ficent ; and to attend him on his journey a multitude 
of slaves are sacrificed. The number of victims on 
some of these occasions is not less than two hundred, 
i A festival is held every year in honour of their last 
i king, on which they celebrate his birth ; to his death 
i they never allude. 


li 






( 224 ) 

WEST INDIES. 

OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF 
THE INHABITANTS OF THE WEST INDIES. 

Of the predominant Character^ 8fc. of the White Resi¬ 
dents in the West Indies, 

THE leading feature which distinguishes the white 
residents in the West Indies is, an independent spi¬ 
rit, and a display of conscious equality throughout 
all ranks and conditions. The poorest white person 
seems to consider himself on a level with the richest, 
and approaches his employer with extended hands, 
and a freedom, which, in European countries, is sel¬ 
dom or never displayed by men in the lower orders 
of life, towards their superiors. The origin of this 
principle arises from the pre-eminence and distinc¬ 
tion which are necessarily attached even to the com¬ 
plexion of a white man, in a country where that cir¬ 
cumstance, generally speaking, distinguishes freedom 
from slavery. 

Of the two great classes of people in most of these 
colonies, the blacks outnumber the whites in the pro¬ 
portion of seven to one. As a sense of common 
safety therefore unites the latter in closer ties than 
are necessary among men who are differently situa¬ 
ted, so the same circumstances necessarily give bifth 
among them to reciprocal dependence and respect.— 
“ Where slavery is established in any part of the 
world, those who are free are by far the most proud 
and jealous of their freedom. Freedom to them is 
not only an enjoyment, but a kind of rank and privi¬ 
lege. Not seeing there, that freedom, as in other 
countries where it is a common blessing, may be uni¬ 
ted with much abject toil, with great misery, with all 
the exterior of servitude, liberty looks among them 
like something that is more noble and liberal.’* 


Of the Creoles» 225 

Perhaps the climate, by increasing sensibility, contri¬ 
butes to create an impatience of subordination. But, 
whatever be the cause of this consciousness of self- 
importance in the West Indian character, the conse¬ 
quences resulting from it are, on the whole, benefi¬ 
cial. If it sometimes produces an ostentatious pride, 
and a ridiculous affectation of splendour, it more fre¬ 
quently awakens the laudable propensities of human 
nature ; frankness, sociability, benevolence, and gene¬ 
rosity. In no part of the globe is the virtue of hos¬ 
pitality more generally prevalent than in the British 
sugar islands; the gates of the planter are always 
open to the reception of his guests. To be a stran¬ 
ger is, of itself, sufficient introduction. This species 
of hospitality is carried so far, that it has been re¬ 
marked, there is not one tolerable inn throughout the 
West Indies. 

Another remarkable trait among this people is, an 
eagerness for litigation and juridical controversy, 
which, though frequently ruinous to individuals, is 
not without its advantages. From the frequent at¬ 
tendance of the lower orders of men in the courts of 
law, they acquire a degree of knowledge, and a clear¬ 
ness and precision of reasoning, which are not gene¬ 
rally to be found in persons of the rank in England. 
Thus the petty juries in the West Indies are com¬ 
monly far more intelligent and respectable than those 
of Great Britain. 


Of the Creoles, 

But to the Creoles or natives we must look for 
the original and peculiar cast of character impressed 
by the climate. They are obviously a taller race, on 
the whole, than the Europeans, but not proportiona- 
bly robust. All of them, however, are distinguished 
for the freedom and suppleness of their joints, which 
enable them to move with agility, ease, and graceful- 

VOL. II. X 


226 Of the Creoles, 

ness, in dancing. They excel also in penmanship and 
the use of the small sword. The effect of the cli¬ 
mate is likewise obvious in the structure of the eye, 
the socket being considerably deeper than among the 
natives of Europe. By this conformation, they are 
guarded from those ill effects which an almost con¬ 
tinual strong glare of sunshine might otherwise pro¬ 
duce ; and it is a curious circumstance that their skin 
feels considerably colder than that of an European 
in the more northerly climates, a proof that nature 
has provided some peculiar means of protecting them 
from the heat, which she has denied to the nations of 
temperate regions, as unnecessary.* 

The ladies of these islands, from habitual tempe¬ 
rance and self-denial, enjoy remarkable good health. 
Except the exercise of dancing, in which they delight 
and excel, they have no amusement or avocation, to 
impel them to much exertion of either body or mind. 
Those midnight assemblies and gambling conven¬ 
tions, in which health, fortune and beauty, are so fre¬ 
quently sacrificed in the cities of Europe, are here 
happily unknown. In their diet, they are abstemi¬ 
ous even to a fault. Simple water, or lemonade, is 
the strongest beverage in which they indulge ; and a 
vegetable mess at noon, seasoned with Cayenne pep¬ 
per, constitutes their principal repast. The effect of 
this mode of life is, a relaxed habit, and a complex¬ 
ion, in which the lily predominates rather than the 
rose. To a stranger, newly arrived, the ladies ap¬ 
pear as just risen from a bed of sickness. Their 

* Mr. Edwards, to whose valuable work on the civil and commer¬ 
cial history of the British colonies in the West Indies we are princi¬ 
pally indebted for this article, seems not to be aware, that the ani¬ 
mal body has, in certain situations, the power of producing cold.— 
When the human body is heated, an evaporation through the skin is 
produced, by perspiration. Evaporation produces cold, or carries 
away the superabundant heat from the surface of the skin; therefore 
the very process, which increases the degree of heat, becomes an in¬ 
strument for producing cold, and thereby preserves animals from the 
effects of those alterations of terhperature, as might prove fatal to life-. 


Of the Creoles, 227 

voice is soft and spiritless, and every step betray lan- 
gour and lassitude. With the finest persons they 
want that glow of health in the countenance : 


Youth’s orient bloom, the blush of chaste desire, 

The sprightly converse, and the smile divine. 

Love’s gentler train, to milder climes retire. 

And full in Albion’s matchless daughters shine. 

Few ladies surpass the Creoles in one distinguish¬ 
ing feature of beauty; they have in general the finest 
eyes in the world, large, languishing, and expressive, 
sometimes beaming with animation, and sometimes 
melting with tenderness; a sure index to genuine 
goodness of heart; and it is observed that no women 
make better wives, or better mothers. 

The most distinguishable circumstance in the char¬ 
acter of the natives is, the early display of the men¬ 
tal powers in young children, whose quick percep¬ 
tion, and rapid advances in knowledge, exceed those 
of European infants of the same age, in a degree that 
is astonishing. As, however, the genius of the West- 
Indians attains sooner to maturity, it declines more 
rapidly than that of Europeans ; and it is certain that 
their subsequent acquirements do not keep pace with 
the early progress of their minds. 

Generosity to each other, and a high degree of 
compassion and kindness towards their inferiors and 
dependents, distinguish the Creoles in a very hon¬ 
ourable manner. If they are proud, pride is allied to 
no meanness. Instructed from their infancy to en¬ 
tertain a very high opinion of their own consequence, 
they are cautious of doing any act which may lessen 
the consciousness of their own dignity. They scorn 
every species of concealment. They have a great 
frankness of disposition. Their confidence is unlim¬ 
ited and entire ,* superior to falsehood themselves, 
they suspect it not in others. 

Indolence is predominant among them, especially 


228 Of the Caribbee Indiana* 

that which gives them an aversion to serious thought 
and deep reflection. They are remarkable for a warm 
imagination, and a high flow of spirits, which excite 
in them a too great promptitude for pleasure, as well 
as an extravagant spirit of enterprize, that too fre¬ 
quently terminates in perplexity and disappointment. 

Of the Caribbees, 

The islands, to which the general denomination of 
West indies is given, lie in the form of a bow, or 
semi* circle, stretching almost from the coast of Flori¬ 
da north, to the river Oronooque in the main conti¬ 
nent of South America. They ai e called by some 
geographers, the Caribbees, from their original in¬ 
habitants. Sailors distinguish them into windward 
and leeward islands; while geographical tables and 
maps divide them into great and little Antilles. 

Their intercourse with Europeans has caused a 
considerable change in the dispositions and habits of 
the Caribbees. In some respects we have enlight¬ 
ened them, in others we have corrupted their morals. 
An old Caribbee thus addressed one of our planters 
on this subject, “ Our people are become almost as 
bad as yours. We are so much altered since you 
came among us, that we hardly know ourselves; and 
we think it is owing to so melancholy a change, that 
hurricanes are more frequent than they were former¬ 
ly. It is an evil spirit who has done all this ; who 
has taken our best lands from us, and given us up to 
the dominion of the Christians.” 

To draw the bow with unerring skill, to wield the 
club with dexterity and strength, to swim with agility 
and boldness, to catch fish, and build a cottage, are 
acquirements indispensably necessary to the Carib¬ 
bees, and the education of their children is well suit¬ 
ed to the attainment of them. One method of mak¬ 
ing their boys skilful, even in infancy, in the exercise 


Of the Caribhee Indians, 229 

of the bow, is, to suspend their food on the branch of 
a tree, compelling the hardy urchins to pierce it with 
their arrows, before they can obtain permission to eat. 
They instruct their youth in lessons of patience and 
fortitude, and endeavour to inspire them with cour¬ 
age in war, and a contempt of danger and death; 
and, above all things, to instil into their minds an he¬ 
reditary hatred and implacable thirst of revenge to¬ 
ward the Arrowawks. The means adopted for these 
purposes are in some respects superstitious, in others 
cruel and detestable. 

As soon as a male child is born, he is sprinkled 
with some drops of his father’s blood. The ceremo¬ 
nies used on these occasions are sufficiently painful 
to the father, but he submits without emotion or 
complaint, fondly believing that the same degree of 
courage which he had himself displayed, would, by 
these means, be transmitted to his son. As the boy 
grows, he is made familiar with scenes of barbarity, 
partakes of the horrid repasts of his nation, is fre¬ 
quently anointed with the fat of the slaughtered Ar- 
rowawk, but by no means allowed to participate in 
the toils of the warrior, and to share the glories of 
conquest, until his fortitude has been put to the test. 
The dawn of manhood ushers in the hour of severer 
trial. He is now to exchange the name he had re¬ 
ceived in his infancy for one more sounding and sig¬ 
nificant :—a ceremony of high importance in the life 
of a Caribbee, but always accompanied by a scene of 
ferocious festivity and unnatural cruelty. 

The severities inflicted on such occasions by the 
hands of fathers on their own children exhibit a mel¬ 
ancholy proof of the influence of superstition, in sup¬ 
pressing the most powerful feelings of nature; but 
the practice is not without example. At Sparta, boys 
were whipped for a whole day, sometimes to death at 
the altar of Dianna ; and there was a wonderful emu¬ 
lation among them, who could best sustain the great- 
X 2 


230 Of the Caribhee Indiari3» 

greatest number of stripes. Nor does the Caribbec 
youth yield in fortitude to the Spartan. If the se¬ 
verities that he suffered extorted the least symptom 
of weakness from the sufferer, he was disgraced for 
ever; but if he rose superior to pain, and baffled the 
rage of his persecutors by perseverance and serenity, 
he received the highest applause j he was thenceforth 
numbered among the defenders of his country, and 
upon him was pronounced by his relations, that he is 
now become a man like themselves, 

A pennance still more severe, and torments more 
excrutiating; stripes, burnings, and suffocation, con¬ 
stitute a test for him, who aspires to the honour of 
leading forth his countrymen to war; for in times of 
peace the Caribbees admit of no supremacy but that 
of nature. Having no laws, they stand in need of 
no magistrates. To their old men they allow some 
kind of authority, but it is not sufficient to protect 
the weak against the strong. In war, however, ex¬ 
perience has taught them that subordination is as re¬ 
quisite as courage; they therefore elect captains in 
their general assemblies with considerable solemnity. 
If success attend the measures of the general, a feast 
of triumph awaits his return. He exchanges his 
name a second time, assuming that of the most formi¬ 
dable Arrowawk that had fallen by his hand. He is 
permitted to appropriate to himself as many captives 
as he pleases, and his countrymen present to his 
choice the most beautiful of their daughters, in re¬ 
ward of his valour. 

Their food both vegetable and animal, excepting 
in the circumstance of their eating human flesh, seems 
to have been the same, in most respects, as that of 
the natives of the larger islands. But although their 
appetites are voracious, they reject many of the best 
gifts of nature. They hold in abhorrence the flesh 
of the Peccary or Mexican hog, the Manati, or sea 
cow, and the turtle. 


National Character of the Peruvians, 231 
The striking conformity of these, and some other 
of their customs, to the practices of the Jews, have 
often been noticed by historians. But whether the 
Caribbees are actuated by religious motives, in thus 
abstaining from those things which many nations ac¬ 
count very wholesome and delicious food, we are no 
where sufficiently informed. 


PERU. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF PERU. 

AMONG the native nations of South America, the 
Peruvians are the most interesting, having, in some 
instances, advanced nearer to civilization than the 
Mexicans already described. The Lama, or small 
camel, had been rendered subservient to their indus¬ 
try ; and their buildings erected of stone still remain, 
while of the earthen edifices of the Mexicans, even 
the ruins have perished. The history of the Peru¬ 
vian monarchy cannot be depended on : the govern¬ 
ment of the Incas was a kind of theocracy, and the 
inhabitants revered a divine descent, not claimed by 
the Mexican monarchs. The religion of the Peru¬ 
vians was that of love and beneficence, while the 
Mexicans, in their cruel rites, seem to have been in¬ 
fluenced by the fear of some malignant deities. Sa¬ 
crifices of the smaller animals, and oflferings of fruits 
and flowers, formed the chief rites of Peruvian su¬ 
perstition. The captives taken in war were not im¬ 
molated but instructed in the arts of civilization.— 
The Peruvians had advanced far before the Mexi¬ 
cans in the necessary arts of life. Manures and irri¬ 
gation were not unknown, though a kind of mattock 
formed the chief instrument of agriculture. Their 
weapons and ornaments displayed no small degree of 




232 Climate of Peru» 

skill, particularly in cutting and piercing emeralds. 
It is much to be regretted that superstition led them 
to sacrifice numerous victims on the death of a chief, 
and a favourite monarch was sometimes followed to 
the tomb by a thousand slaughtered servants. 

Though Peru is situated within the torrid zone, it 
is not so annoyed with heat as the other tropical cli¬ 
mates ; and though the sky is generally cloudy, shield¬ 
ing the natives from the perpendicular rays of the 
sun, it is said that no rain ever falls ; but the genial 
and nightly dews descend on the ground, and refresh 
the plants and grass that in many places are luxuri¬ 
antly fertile. 

In the vicinity of Lima there are many gold and 
silver mines. Peru is the only part of Spanish Ame¬ 
rica which produces quicksilver ; it is found in whit¬ 
ish masses resembling ill-burnt bricks. 

In South America, the most striking of nature’s 
works are the Cordilleras of the Andes ; these are 
vast mountains, called Cordilleras or Chains by the 
Spaniards, extending four thousand three hundred 
miles. “ Next to the extent of the New World,” 
says Dr. Robertson, “ the grandeur of the objects 
which it presents to view is most apt to strike the 
eye of an observer. Nature seems to have carried 
on her operations upon a larger scale, and with a bolder 
hand, to have distinguished the features of this coun¬ 
try with a peculiar magnificence. The mountains of 
America are much superior in height to those of the 
other divisions of the globe. The Andes may literally 
be said to hide their heads in the clouds ; the storms 
often roll, and the thunder bursts below their summits, 
which, though exposed to the rays of the sun in the 
centre of the torrid zone, are covered with everlast¬ 
ing snow.” 

Some of these mountains, which appear to have 
their bases resting on other mountains, arise to a 
most astonishing height. From experiments made 




Dresses of Ladies and Gcnllcmen in Peru and Chili 








































































































































































































































Mountains of South America. 233 

with the barometer* on the mountain of Cotspaxi, 
it was found six thousand two hundred and fifty-two 
yards above the surface of the sea. 

On the top of Pichincha, a mountain twelve hun¬ 
dred yards lower than Cotspaxiy some travellers found 
the cold extremely intense, the wind violent, and they 
were frequently involved in such a cloud, as to be 
unable to dicern any thing at the distance of six or 
eight yards. As the clouds moved nearer the sur¬ 
face of the earth, the air grew clear, and they heard 
the dteadtul noise of the tempests that discharged 
themselves on Quito and the neighbouring country. 
They saw the lightning issue from the clouds, and 
heard the thunder roll far beneath them. While the 
lower parts were involved in tempests of thunder and 
rain, they enjoyed a delightful serenity ; the wind was 
abated, the sky clear, and the rays of the sun mode¬ 
rated the severity of the cold. But when the clouds 
rose, their thickness rendered respiration difficult; 
snow and hail fell contiually; and the wind returned 
with all its violence, so that it was impossible to 
overcome the fear of being, together with their hut, 
blown down the precipice, on the edge of which it 
was built, or of being buried by the accumulation of 
ice and snow. Their fears were likewise increased 
by the fall of enormous fragments of rocks. Though 
every crevice in their hut was stopped, the wind was 
so piercing, it penetrated; and though the hut v, as 
small, crowded with inhabitants, and had several 
lamps burning, the cold was so great, that each indi¬ 
vidual was obliged to have a chafing-dish of coals, 
and several men were constantly employed to remove 
the snow which fell in the night. By the severities 
of such a climate their feet were swelled, their hands 
covered with chilblains, and their lips so chapped, 
that every motion in speaking brought blood. 

* For the method of taking the heights of mountains by the ba¬ 
rometer, see Scientific Dialougues, vol. iv.p. 201. 


( 234 ) 

PATAGONIA. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE PATAGONIANS. 

The folloxving is Commodore Byror^s account of the 
Patagonians, 

WHEN CommoJre Byron had landed his men, 
he drew them up on the beach, with the officers at 
their head, giving orders that none should leave their 
station. “I then” says he, “went forward alone to¬ 
wards the Indians, but perceiving that they retired 
as I advanced, I made signs that one of them should 
come near; the chief approached me; he was of a 
gigantic stature, and seemed to realize the tales of 
monsters in human shape; he had the skin of some 
wild beast thrown over his shoulders, and was paint¬ 
ed so as to make the most hideous appearance I ever 
beheld: round one eye was a large circle of white, 
which was surrounded by a circle of black, and the 
rest of his face was streaked with paint of different 
colours ; I did not measure him, but if I may judge 
of his height by the proportion of his stature to my 
own, it could not be much less than seven feet. When 
this frightful colossus came up, we muttered somewhat 
to each other as a salutation ; I then walked with 
him to his companions, among whom there were 
many women; of these, few were less in stature than 
their chief. 1 heard their voices at a distance, and 
when I came near, I perceived a good number of old 
men, who were chanting some unintelligible words in 
the most doleful cadence I ever heard, with an air of 
serious solemnity, which inclined me to think that it 
was a religious ceremony ; they were all painted and 
clothed nearly in the same manner : the circles round 
the two eyes were in no instance of one colour, but 


Persons and Manners of the Patagonians, 235 ^ 
they were not universally black and white, some being 
red and white, and some red and black. Their teeth 
were as white as ivory, remarkably even and well 
set; but except the skins which they wore with the 
hair inwards, most of them were naked, a few only 
having upon their legs a kind of boot, with a short 
pointed stick fastened to each heel, which served as 
a spur. 

“ Having looked upon these enormous goblins, 
(some of whom were six feet six inches high, though 
the greater part of them was from five feet ten to six 
feet in stature,) with no small surprise, I took out a 
quantity of white and yellow beads, which I distri¬ 
buted among them, and which they received with 
very strong expressions of pleasure : I then took out 
a whole piece of green ribband, and giving the end 
of it into the hands of one of them, I made the per¬ 
son who sat next take hold of it, and so on as far as 
it would reach ; they all sat quietly, and appeared to 
be more pleased with it than with the beads. While 
the ribband was thus extended, I took out a pair of 
scissors, and cut it between two of the Indians that 
held it, so that I left about a yard in the possession 
of every one, which I afterwards tied about their 
heads, where they suffered it to remain, without so 
much as touching it while I was with them. Their 
peaceable and orderly behaviour on this occasion cer¬ 
tainly did them honour, especially as my presents 
could not extend to the whole company. 

These people were not wholly strangers to Euro¬ 
pean commodities : for, upon closer attention, 1 per¬ 
ceived among them one woman, who had bracelets of 
brass or very pale gold upon her arms, and some 
beads of blue glass, strung upon two queus of hair, 
which, being parted at top, hung over each shoulder 
before her. One of the men shewed me the bowl of a 
tobacco pipe, which was made of red earth, but I 
soon found that they had no tobacco among them ; 



236> - Persons and Manners 

and this person soon made me understand that he 
wanted some ; upon which I beckoned to my people, 
who remained upon the beach, drawn up as I had left 
them, and three or four ran forward, imagining that 
I wanted them. The Indians no sooner saw them 
advance, than they all rose with a great clamour, and 
were leaving the place, as 1 supposed to get arms, 
which were probably left at a little distance ; 1 de¬ 
sired only one of my people to come, and bring with 
him all the tobacco that he could collect from the rest. 
As soon as the Indians saw this, they recovered from 
their surprise, and every one returned to his station, 
except a very old man, who came up to me and sung 
a long song; but before it was finished, Mr. Gum¬ 
ming came up with the tobacco, and I could not but 
smile at the astonishment which I saw he expressed 
in his countenance, upon perceiving himself, though 
six feet two inches high, become at once a pigmy 
among giants ; for these people may indeed be more 
properly called giants than tall men: of the few 
among us who are full six feet high, scarcely any are 
broad and muscular in proportion to their stature, but 
look rather like men of common bulk run up acci¬ 
dentally to an unusual height, and a man who should 
measure only six feet two inches, and equally exceed 
a stout, well set man of the common stature in 
breadth and muscle, would strike us rather as a being 
of gigantic race, than as an individual accidentally 
anomalous; our sensations, therefore, upon seeing 
five hundred people, the shortest of whom were at 
least four inches taller, and bulky in proportion, may 
be easily imagined. 

“ During our pantomimical conference, an old man 
often laid his head down upon the stones, and shut¬ 
ting his eyes for about half a minute, first pointed to 
his mouth and then to the hills, meaning, as I ima¬ 
gined, that if I would stay with them till the morn¬ 
ing, they would furnish me with provisions, but this 


Tntervi^nv betweon Commodorp Byron and tho !;i?antic Patagonians 



















































































































































































































V 



of the Patagonians. 2ii7 

©fFer I was obliged to decline. I observed that they 
had with them a great number of dogs, with which I 
suppose they run down the animals that serve them 
for food. Their horses were not large, but nimble, 
and well broken. The bridle was a leathern thong, 
with a small piece of wood that served for a bit, and 
the saddles resemble the pads that are in use among 
the country people in England. The women rode 
astride, and both men and women without stirrups ; 
yet they gallopped fearlessly over the spot upon which 
we landed, the stones of which were large, loose, and 
slippery. 

“Every one of them had a missile weapon, of a 
singular kind, tucked into the girdle. It consisted 
of two round stones, covered with leather, each 
weighing about a pound, which were fastened to the 
two ends of a string about eight feet long. This is 
used as a sling, one stone being kept in the hand, 
and the other whirled round the head till it is sup¬ 
posed to have acquired sufficient force, and then dis¬ 
charged at the object. They are so expert in the 
management of this double-headed shot, that they 
will hit a mark not bigger than a shilling with both 
the stones, at the distance of fifteen yards; it is not 
their custom, however, to strike either the guanico 
(an animal that resembles the deer) dr the ostrich, 
with them in the chace, but they discharge them so 
that the cord comes against the legs of the ostrich, 
or two of the legs of the guanico, is twisted round 
them by the force and swing of the balls, so that the 
animal, being unable to run, becomes an easy prey to 
the hunter.” 

They appear to eat raw flesh without any regard 
to cleanliness. When Captain Wallis took several of 
them on board his ship, they did not express either 
the curiosity or wonder which the multiplicity of 
objects, to them equally strange and stupendous, 
might have been supposed to excite. 

VOL. II. Y 


138 Persons of the New Zealanders* 

“I took them,” said the Captain, “ down into the 
cabin, where they looked about them with unac¬ 
countable indifference, till one of them happened to 
cast his eyes upon a looking-glass : this, however, ex¬ 
cited no more astonishment than the prodigies which 
offer themselves to our imagination in a dream, when 
we converse with the dead, fly in the air, and walk 
upon the sea, without reflecting that the laws of na¬ 
ture are violated; but it afforded them infinite diver¬ 
sion ; they advanced, retreated, and played a thou¬ 
sand tricks before it, laughing violently and talking 
with great emphasis to each other.” 


NEW ZEALAND. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF NEW ZEALAND. 

Of their Persons, 

THE natives of New Zealand are generally equal 
to the tallest Europeans in stature ; they are stout and 
well made, but by the manner of sitting in their ca¬ 
noes, their legs are distorted. In general the New 
Zealanders have the aquiline nose, with dark colour¬ 
ed eyes, and black hair, which is tied up to the crown 
of the head. The principal men among them use 
the practice of tattowing themselves in spiral and 
other figures. In many places, their skin is indent¬ 
ed in such a manner as to look like carving, but the 
inferior people content themselves with besmearing 
their faces with red paint and ochre. The faces of 
the old men are almost covered with indentations, 
painted black, which make a most frightful appear¬ 
ance, but those who are young blacken only their 
lips, like the women, and gradually extend their deco- 



Dress of the New Zealanders^ 239 

rations as they advance in years. The marks upon 
the face are generally spiral, and are performed with 
great regularity. 


Of their Dress, 

The dress of a New Zealander is certainly the 
most uncouth that can be imagined. It is made of 
the leaves of a flag split into three or four slips, 
which, when dry, are interwoven Avith each other into 
a kind of stuff between netting and cloth, with all the 
ends, which are eight or nine inches long, hanging 
out on the upper side. Of this cloth, if cloth it may 
be called, two pieces serve for a complete dress ; one 
of them is tied over their shoulders with a string, and 
reaches as low as the knees ; to the end of this string 
is fastened a bodkin of bone, which is easily passed 
through any two parts of this upper garment, so as to 
tack them together ; the other piece is wrapped round 
the waist, and reaches nearly to the ground. 

Of the War-Dance^ and Music of the New Zealanders. 

Their war-dance consists of a great variety of 
violent motions and contortions of the limbs, accom¬ 
panied with grimaces. The tongue is frequently 
thrust out to a considerable length, and the eye-lids 
forcibly drawn up in a frightful manner. At the 
same time they brandish their spears, shake their 
darts, and cleave the air with their patoo-patoos^ an 
instrument shaped like a pointed battledore, with a 
short handle and sharp edges. This horrid dance 
is alwavs accompanied by a song, which is wild but 
not disagreeable, and every strain concludes with a 
loud and deep sigh, which is uttered in concert. In 
the motions of the dance, there is a strength, firmness 
and agility, which must excite the admiration of 
strangers ; and in their song they keep time with sc 


240 Religion^ £s?c. of the New Zealanders, 
much exactness, that more than a hundred paddles 
struck against the side of the boat at once will con¬ 
vey to the ear but a single sound, at the divisions of 
their music.” 

They have sonorous instruments j one is the shell, 
called the Triton’s trumpet, with which they make a 
noise not unlike that which is made with a cow’s 
horn ; the other is a small wooden pipe, resembling 
a child’s ninepin, only much, smaller, A hideous 
bellowing was all the sound that could be produced 
by these instruments. 

Of the Treatment of their Enemies, 

The New Zealanders avow the horrid practice of 
eating their enemies, which fact, however strange 
and incredible, was completely ascertained by Cap¬ 
tain Cook, when he visited these islands in the year 
1770. “ I shall add,” says the narrator of the voy¬ 

ages, “ that in almost every cove where we landed, 
we found fresh bones of men near the places where 
fires had been made, and that among the heads that 
were brought on board, some seemed to have false 
eyes, and ornaments in their ears, as if alive. That 
which Mr. Banks bought was sold with great reluc¬ 
tance by the possessor: the head was manifestly that 
of a young person about fourteen or fifteen years of 
age, and, by the contusions on one side, appeared to 
have received many violent blows, and indeed a part 
of the bone near the eye was wanting.’’ 

Of their Religion and Conduct towards their Dead, 

Much cannot be known of the Religion of the 
New Zealanders, but it is certain that they acknowl¬ 
edge the influence of Superior Beings, one of whom 
is supreme, and the rest subordinate. One of these 
islanders appeared to have a much more deep and 


Th4; Massacre of part of the crew of the vessel of Perousc, at Maouna, one of the Navigator's Islands. 





























































































































































% 




j 


( 

! 







Religion^ and Conduct towards their Dead, 241 
extensive knowledge of these subjects than any of 
the other people; and whenever he was disposed to 
instruct them, which he did sometimes in a long dis¬ 
course, he was sure of a numerous audience, who 
listened in a profound silence, with much reverence 
and attention. 

What homage they pay to the deities could not be 
learnt; no place of public worship was visible, but 
near a plantation of sweet potatoes was seen a small 
area, of a square figure, surrounded with stones, in 
the middle of which one of the sharpened stakes 
which they use as a spade was set up, and on it was 
hung a basket of fern roots, which the natives said 
was an offering to the Gods, by which the owner 
hoped to render them propitious, and obtain a plenti¬ 
ful crop. 

Their manner of disposing of the dead was differ ¬ 
ent in different parts of the island. In the north 
they buried them in the ground ; in the south they 
threw them into the sea. No grave was to be seen 
in the country, and the inhabitants affect to conceal 
every thing relating to the dead with a sort of mys¬ 
terious secrecy. But, whatever may be the sepul¬ 
chre, the living are themselves the monuments ; for 
scarcely a single person is to be seen of either sex, 
whose body is not marked by the scars of wounds 
which have been inflicted, as a testimony of their re¬ 
gret for the loss of a relation or friend. “ Some of 
these wounds,’^ says Captain Cook, “ we saw in a state 
so recent, that the blood was scarcely stanched, which 
shows that death had been among them while we 
were on the coast; and this makes it more extraor¬ 
dinary, that no funeral ceremony should have fallen 
under our notice some of the scars were very large 
and deep, and in many instances had greatly disfigur¬ 
ed the faces. 


( 242 ) 

OTAHEITE. 




DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF OTAHEITE, 
AND THE SOCIETY ISLANDS. 

Of the Persons^ Ssfc. of the Inhabitants of Otaheite* 

THE inhabitants of Otaheite are a stout, well 
made, active, comely people. Their complexion is 
of a pale brown, their hair black, and finely frizzled ; 
they have black eyes, flat noses, large mouths, and 
fine white teeth; the men wear their beards in many 
different cuts or fashions; such, by the way, was the 
custom of our ancestors in the time of Shakespeare, 
The women are, in general, smaller; their skin is 
delicately smooth and soft, they have no colour in 
their cheeks, their nose is somewhat flat, their eyes 
full of expression, and their teeth beautifully even 
and white. The men of consequence on the island 
wear the nails of their fingers long, which is consid¬ 
ered as a very honourable badge of distinction, since 
only such people as have no occasion to work can suf¬ 
fer them to grow to that length ; but the nail of the 
middle finger on the right hand is always kept short. 

Both sexes have a custom of staining their bodies, 
which they call tattowing^ by which the hinder part 
of their thighs and loins are marked very thick with 
black lines, in various forms. These lines are made 
by striking the teeth of an instrument, somewhat like 
a comb, just through the skin,* and rubbing into the 
punctures a kind of paste made of soot and oil, 
which leaves an indelible stain. Children under 
twelve years of age are not tattowed ; and some men 
whose legs were chequered by the same method, ap¬ 
peared to be persons of considerable rank and au¬ 
thority. Mr. Ranks, who saw the operation per- 


DresSy £sPc. of the Inhabitants of Otaheite, 243 
formed on a girl about thirteen years old, says, that 
the instrument used upon the occasion had thirty 
teeth ; and every stroke, (of which at least an hun¬ 
dred were made in a minute ) drew a small quantity 
of serum tinged with blood. The girl bore the pain 
with stoical resolution for about a quarter of an hour, 
but the agony of so many hundred punctures became 
then intolerable; she burst forth into tears and the 
most piteous lamentations, imploring the operator to 
desist. He was, however, inexorable; and, when 
she began to struggle, was held down by two women, 
who sometimes soothed, and sometimes chid her; 
and now and then, when she was most unruly, gave 
her a smart blow. This operation is not performed 
in less than three or four hours. 

Both men and women are not only decently but 
gracefully clothed in a kind of white cloth that is 
made of the bark of a shrub, and resembles coarse 
China paper. Their dress consists of two pieces of 
this cloth; one of them, having a hole made in the 
middle to put the head through, hangs from the 
shoulders to the middle of the legs before and be¬ 
hind; another piece, which is between four and five 
yards long, and about a yard broad, they wrap round 
the body in a very easy manner. This cloth is not 
woven, but made, like paper, of the macerated fibres 
of the inner bark spread out and beaten together.— 
Their ornaments are feathers, flowers, pieces of shells, 
and pearls; the last are chiefly worn by the women. 
In bad weather they wear matting of different kinds, 
as their clothes will not bear wetting. 

The houses in Otaheite are no other than sheds, 
built in the woods betw'een the sea and the moun¬ 
tains ; they are erected in an oblong form, being 
about twice as long as they are wide, and consist of 
a roof about four feet from the ground, raised on 
three rows of pillars. In these huts the whole family 
repose themselves at night, for they make no use of 


244 Manner of Living in Otaheite, 
them but to sleep in, unless it rains, when they take 
their meals under cover. The size of the house is 
proportioned to the number that constitues the fami¬ 
ly. The established order in these dormitories is, 
for the master and his wife to sleep in the middle 5 
round them the married people ; in the next circle 
the unmarried women ; and in the next, at the same 
distance, the unmarried men; the servants sleep at 
the extremity of the shed, but in fair weather they 
sleep in the open air. Some few dwellings, con¬ 
structed for greater privacy, are entirely enclosed 
with partitions of reeds, and resemble, in some de¬ 
gree, large bird cages lined; in these houses a hole 
is left for the entrance, which may be easily closed 
by a board. 

They eat alone, since it would be a disgrace for 
the men and women to sit down together to a meal. 
The shade of a spreading tree serves them for a par¬ 
lour, broad leaves answer the purpose of a table cloth. 
A person of rank is attended by a number of servants, 
who seat themselves around him : before he begins 
his meal, he washes his mouth and hands very clean, 
and repeats the ablution several times whilst he is 
eating. The quantity of food which these people eat 
at a meal is prodigious. Men of rank are constantly 
fed by the women ; and one of the chiefs who dined 
on board a British ship shewed such reluctance to 
feed himself, that one of the servants was obliged to 
undertake the task, to prevent his returning without 
a meal. 

The Otaheiteans are an industrious, friendly peo¬ 
ple, but fickle and violent in their passions. The 
manner of singling out a man here for a chosen friend 
is, by taking off a part of your clothing and putting it 
upon him. Their usual manner of expressing respect 
to strangers, or to superiors, at a first meeting is, by 
uncovering themselves to the middle. They salute 
those who sneeze, by saying evaroeiaUeatoua^ that is, 






A Human Sacrifice in a Morai inOtaheite 






































































Government of the Otaheiteans, 245 

“ May the good eatoua awaken you or, “ May not 
the evil eatoua lull you to sleep.” 

Their propensity to theft is very great; and they 
are much inclined to libidinous excesses. Both men 
and women are very cleanly, both in their clothes 
and persons, constantly washing their bodies three 
times a day in running streams. By being used to 
the water from their infancy, they become good 
swimmers ; even children of five or six years old will 
dive to almost any depth in the sea, for the sake of 
a bead or othei bauble. 

These people have a remarkable sagacity in fore¬ 
telling the weather, particularly the quarter whence 
the wind will blow. In their distant voyages they 
steer by the sun in the day, and in the night by the 
stars, which they distinguish by separate names.— 
They reckon their time by moons^ thirteen of w'hich 
make a year. The day they divide into six parts, 
and the night into an equal number. In arithmeti¬ 
cal computation they can go no further than two hun¬ 
dred ; this is performed by the fingers and toes, 
which they reckon ten times over. 

The government of the Otaheiteans resembles the 
early state of the European nations under the feudal 
system. Their orders of dignity answer to king, ba¬ 
ron, vassal, and villein. There are two kings in the 
island, one for each part, who are treated with great 
respect by all ranks of the people. The earees^ or 
barons, are lords of several districts into which the 
island is divided. The vassals superintend the cul¬ 
tivation of the ground; and the villeins, or lowest 
class, perform all the labourious work. In this coun¬ 
try a child succeeds to his fathers title’s and authori¬ 
ty as soon as he is born: thus the king no sooner has 
a son, than his sovereignty ceases, retaining only the 
regency till his child comes of age. The child of 
the baron also succeeds to his father’s dignities; so 
that a baron who was yesterday approached with the 


246 Religion of the Otaheiteans, 

ceremony of lowering their garments, is to-day, by 
the birth of a child, reduced to the rank of a private 
man. 

The Otaheiteans believe in a Supreme Deity, whom 
they suppose to be possessed of one son named Tane, 
besides a great number of female descendants. To 
the son they direct their worship, though they do 
not seem to think that future happiness depends up¬ 
on their good or bad conduct, but every individual 
will enjoy felicity in the next world in proportion to 
the rank he holds in this. They have no idea of fu¬ 
ture punishment. The priesthood is hereditary.— 
The priests are men of science, and to them is com¬ 
mitted the care of the sick, the cure of whom they at¬ 
tempt by means of ridiculous ceremonies and en¬ 
chantments. No one can perfom the operation of 
tattowing but the priests. 

Among the religious customs at Otaheite, that of 
offering human sacrifices to their deities is the most 
remarkable. From a variety of inquiries made by 
Captain Cook on this subject, he was able to ascer¬ 
tain, that men, for certain crimes, were condemned 
to be fiist beaten to death, and then sacrificed to the 
gods, provided they did not possess property suffi¬ 
cient for their redemption. The following brief ac¬ 
count of what took place at one of these ceremonies 
is taken from Captain Cook’s voyages. 

Captain Cook and others approaching the morale 
or temple, were desired to pull off their hats, after 
which they proceeded, attended by numbers of men 
and boys. Four priests, with their attendants, were 
waiting for them. The dead body was in a canoe 
that lay on the beach, fronting the morai. One of 
the priest’s attendants brought a young plantain tree, 
and laid it before the king. Another approached him 
with a tuft of feathers. A long prayer was now 
commenced by one of the priests, which being over, 
the priests with their assistants went to the beach, 


Funerals^ of Otaheite, 247 

sat down by the dead body, which was taken out of 
the canoe, renewing their prayers at the same time. 
Some of the hair was now plucked from the head of 
the intended sacrifice, and the left eye taken out.— 
The corpse was then carried and laid under a tree, 
near which were fixed three pieces of wood variously 
carved. Here the priests engaged again in prayers 
for, and expostulated with the dead man. 

The body was now carried to the most conspicu¬ 
ous part of the morai, the drums beating slowly ; and 
while the priests were again engaged in their prayers, 
some assistants dug a hole about two feet deep, into 
which they threw the victim, and covered it with 
stones and earth. A dog was then sacrificed, and 
afterwards a pig, to the entrails of which they seemed 
to pay great attention, as hoping to derive from them 
much knowledge of the future. On the next day the 
ceremonies were renewed, more pigs sacrificed, and 
more prayers offered, with which the solemnity was 
concluded: 


Mild Otaheite ! in thy woodland isle, 

What balmy fragrance wantons in the breeze ! 
What vernal hopes, and vernal fancies, live ! 

What palmy forests crown thy rising hills! 
Romantically wild! Majestic floods 
Fling their hoar foam into thy tranquil seas ; 

Down thy tall cliffs, where dauntless danger haunts, 
What greatful fruits alleviate burning thirst! 

Along thy nectar’d borders, and green banks. 

Fair flow’rs spring forth, spotless as virgin truth ! 
Thy sun-burnt race, with nature’s bounty blest, 
Beneath the covert of the spreading palm. 

Sweet rural peace enjoy : on them, wan grief 
Or fretful disappointment rarely frowns. 

For them, unfailing fountains copious burst 
In limped lapse adown each sunny vale, 

Or, ceaseless gushing from the gelid rock. 

The potent stream refreshes pallid lips; 

While the coy virgin, on the pebbl’d strand. 





248 


Manners and Customs, 

E’en hu.za.rds life to wear the pow’rful charm 
That cruel beauty here demands ; the maid 
Her cheek uplifts to meet the tort’ring stain, 

A willing slave to arbitrary priests: 

Submissively she chains the stagnant tear, 

Though the pierc’d veins burst forth their crimson tide.. 
Meantime, relentless superstition claims 
The bloody sacrifice : her bearded priests 
Condemn the convict to incessant blows, 

Till his vex’t spirit mingles with the gale ! 

The drums sound mournful, mournful moves the train. 
To hide the criminal in silent earth. 

Tis done ! The blood of murder’d beasts now flows. 
Staining the verdant ground : again with pray’rs 
And hopes, they ceremoniously inspect 
The quiv’ring entrails, and enquire their fate. 


EASTER ISLAND. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF EASTER ISL¬ 
AND. 


£ ASTER Island bears evident marks, not only of 
a volcanic origin, but of having been greatly injured 
by some late eruptions. The shore consists of bro¬ 
ken rocks, whose cavernous appearance, and black or 
lerruginous colour, seem to indicate that they had 
been thrown up by subterraneous fire. In many parts 
of the country, the ground is completely covered with 
rocks and stones of all sizes. This renders the roads 
intolerably rugged, and to Europeans almost unpas- 
sable, though the natives leap from stone to stone 
with surprising agility. These stones, which are so 
troublesome to pedestrians, are of great use to the 
country, by contributing to the freshness and moist¬ 
ure of the ground. They partly supply the want of 
















Inhabitants and Monuments of Easter Island. 








































































































































































































































































































































of the Inhabitants of Easter Island. 249 
the salutary shade of trees, which, it is supposed, the 
inhabitants were so imprudent as to cut down, in re¬ 
mote times, by which the island lies fully exposed 
to the rays of the sun, and is destitute of running 
streams and springs : 


They hear no whisper'd sounds 
Of waters, trilling from the riven stone, 

To feed a fountain on the rocky floor, 

In purest stream o’erflowing to the sea ; 

They know no grotto cool, no trees arise. 

Rude are the rocks, and ev’ry hill deform’d. 

Glover. 

The people in the island are of a middle size, and 
in general thin. They go entirely naked, their faces 
are painted red, and they are tattowed on several 
parts of the body, a custom which is very common to 
all the inhabitants of the South sea Islands. The 
greatest peculiarity belonging to these people is, the 
size of their ears, the lobe of which is stretched out 
so that it almost rests upon their shoulder. The 
chief ornaments for their ears are the white down of 
feathers, and rings made of the leaf of the sugar¬ 
cane, which is very elastic, and for this purpose is 
rolled up something in the manner of a watch-spring. 
Some of them wear garments like those which are 
used by the inhabitants of Otaheite, tinged of a bright 
orange colour; these were supposed by Captain Cook 
to be the chiefs of the country. 

The most remarkable curiosity belonging to Eas- 
ter-lsland is, a number of Colossian statues, of which, 
however, very few remain entire. These statues are 
placed only on the sea-coast. On the east side of the 
island are the ruins of three platforms or terraces of 
stone work, on each of which had stood four large 
statues, but most of them are fallen down and brok¬ 
en, or defaced in the fall. One of these measured 
fifteen feet in length, and six broad over the shoul¬ 
ders ; each statue had on its head a large cylindric 
VOL. II. z 





250 Manners and Customs 

stone of a red colour, wrought perfectly even and 
round. Others were found that measured nearly 
twenty-seven feet, and eight or nine feet over the 
shoulders; and one still larger was standing in the 
year 1744, the shade of which was sufficient to shel¬ 
ter thirty persons from the rays of the sun. But the 
largest which remained, when M. de la Perouse visit¬ 
ed the island, measured only fourteen feet six inches 
in height, seven feet six inches in breadth across the 
shoulders, three feet in thickness round the belly, and 
five feet thick at the base. 

The workmanship is rude, but not bad, nor are the 
features of the face ill formed ; the ears are long ac¬ 
cording to the distortion practised in the country, 
and the bodies have hardly any thing of a human 
figure about them. These monuments, which are 
evidently of considerable antiquity, while they shew 
the small progress made in the art of sculpture, ex¬ 
hibit strong proofs of the ingenuity and perseverance 
of the islanders in the age in which they were erect¬ 
ed. How persons wholly unacquainted with the ad¬ 
vantages of the mechanical powers could raise such 
stupendous figures, and then place the large cylindric 
stones upon their heads, seems at first sight truly as¬ 
tonishing. The stone of which they are composed is 
known among naturalists by the name of Lapillo ; it 
is soft and light, and therefore Captain Cook, thought 
it would be easy, with levers a few yards long, and 
by slipping stones underneath, to lift a much heavier 
weight; a hundred men, or even fewer, would be 
sufficient for the purpose. 

All the monuments which are at this time in ex¬ 
istence are situated in morals^ or burying places, and 
were probably erected in honour of persons who had 
been chiefs in the island. That a constant succes¬ 
sion has not been kept up' may be accounted for from 
the nature of their present government, which seems 
to have so far equalized their condition, that there 


of the Inhabitants of Easter Island, 251 
has not for ages past existed among them a chief of 
sufficient consequence to excite the attention and re¬ 
gard of those who have survived him ; or of suffi¬ 
cient authority to employ a number of men in erect¬ 
ing a statue to perpetuate his own memory. There 
are, however, chiefs in the country, but they do not 
appear to be possessed of any other consequence than 
that of superintending the plantations in every dis¬ 
trict. 

The colossian images are at present superseded by 
small pyramidal heaps of stones, the topmost of which 
is white-washed. This species of mausolea^ which 
are not the work of an hour for a single man, are 
piled upon the sea* shore. 

One of the natives shewed M. de la Perouse that 
these stones covered a tomb, by laying himself down 
at full length on the ground; afterwards, raising his 
hands towards the sky, he appeared evidently, desi¬ 
rous of expressing the idea, that they believed in a 
future state of existence. This, however, seems ra* 
ther extraordinary, since no traces of worship are to 
be discovered; nor are there any grounds for sup¬ 
posing that the statues are used as idols, although the 
Indians shew some kind of veneration for them. 

The inhabitants of this island are hospitable, but 
greatly addicted to theft. While they are presenting 
a stranger with potatoes and sugar-canes, they never 
let an opportunity slip of robbing him, if it can be 
done with impunity. In rendering an European any 
service, or assistance, they will not fail to pay them¬ 
selves for the trouble, by snatching from him his hat 
or handkerchief, with which they escape at full speed. 
Ahd though others of them will pretend to follow 
him in order to recover the property, yet it is only 
with a view of eluding the attention of the person 
thus plundered. 

From the various methods which they use in com¬ 
mitting their continual depredations, it has been in- 


252 Dispositions and Domestic Habits 
ferred, that in the arts of roguery and hypocrisy they 
are far superior to the most experienced villains in 
Europe. And though it is certain these people have 
not the same ideas of theft that vve have, perhaps 
even no shame is attached to it, yet they are aware 
that the action is unjust, since they immediately take 
to flight, in order to avoid the punishment they fear¬ 
ed, as the natural consequence of the offence. 


SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 

CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE SANlT? 

WICH ISLANDS. 

OJ their Dispositions and Domestic Habits, 

THE natives of the Sandwich isles are probably 
of the same extraction with the inhabitants of the 
Society Islands, New Zealand, and Easter Isl¬ 
and, since there is an evident resemblance in their 
persons, manners, customs, and language. They 
seem to live in the greatest affection and harmony 
with each other. The women who have children 
shew a remarkable tenderness for them, and pay the 
greatest attention to their wants : and in these do¬ 
mestic employments the men frequently lend their 
assistance, though they will not admit their wives to 
live with them on equal terms. 

They generally rise with the sun ; and, after hav¬ 
ing enjoyed the cool of the evening, retire to their 
repose a short time after sun-set. The earees, or 
chiefs, are occupied in making canoes and mats ; the 
tawtows, or servants, are chiefly employed in the 
plantations, and also in fishing ; and the women are 
engaged in the manufacture of cloth. They amuse 




of the Sandwich Islanders* 253 

ihemselves, in their leisure hours, with various di¬ 
versions. Their young persons, of both sexes, are 
fond of dancing ; and, on more solemn occasions, 
they entertain themselves with wrestling and boxing 
matches, performed after the manner of the natives 
of the Friendly Islands ; to whom however, they are 
greatly inferior in all these respects. 

The music of these people is of a rude kind ; for 
the only musical instruments that were observed 
among them were drums of various sizes. Their 
songs, however, which they are said to sing in parts, 
and which they accompany with a gentle motion 
of their arms, (like the inhabitants of the Friendly 
Islands) have a very pleasing effect. 

They are greatly addicted to gambling. One of 
their games resembles our game of draughts ; but, 
from the number of squares, it seems to be much 
more intricate. The board is of the length of about 
two feet, and is divided into two hundred and thirty- 
eight squares, fourteen in a row. In this game they 
use black and white pebbles, which they move from 
one square to another. Another of their games con¬ 
sists in concealing a stone under some cloth, which is 
spread out by one of the parties, and rumpled in such 
a manner, that it is difficult to distinguish where the 
stone lies. The antagonist then strikes with a stick 
that part of the cloth where he supposes the stone to 
be; and the chances being, upon the whole, against 
bis hitting it, odds of all degrees varying with the 
opinion of the dexterity of the parties, are laid on 
the occasion. 

They often entertain themselves with races be¬ 
tween boys and girls ; on which occasion they lay 
wagers with great spirit. We saw a man beating his 
breast, and tearing his hair, in the violence of rage, 
for having lost three hatchets at one of these races, 
which he had purchased from us with near half his 
property, a very little time before. 

z 2 


254 Amusements of the 

Both sexes are surprisingly expert in swimming, 
which, among these people, is not only deemed a 
necessary art, but is also a favourite diversion. One 
particular method, in which they amuse themselves 
with this exercise, deserves to be related. The surf 
that breaks on the coast extends about one hundred 
and fifty yards from the shore; and, within that 
space, the surges of the sea are dashed against the 
beach with extreme violence. Whenever the impetu¬ 
osity of the surf is augmented to its greatest height, 
they make choice of that time for this amusement, 
which they perform in the following manner : About 
twenty or thirty of the islanders take each a long nar¬ 
row board, rounded at both ends, and set out from 
the shore in company with each other. They plunge 
under the first wave they meet, and after they have 
suffered it to roll over them, rise again beyond it, 
and swim farther out into the sea. They encounter 
the second wave in the same manner with the first. 
The principal difficulty consists in seizing a favoura¬ 
ble opportunity of diving under it; for if a person 
misses the proper moment, he is caught by the surf, 
and forced back with great violence ; and his utmost 
dexterity is then, required to prevent his being dashed 
against the rocks. When, in consequence of these re¬ 
peated efforts, they have gained the smooth water be* 
yond the surf, they recline themselves, at length, up¬ 
on their board, and prepare for their return to shore. 
As the surf is composed of a number of waves, of 
which every third is observed to be considerably 
larger than the rest, and to flow higher upon the 
shore, while the others break in the intermediate 
space, their first object is to place themselves on the 
top of the largest surge, which drives them along 
with astonishing rapidity towards the land. If they 
should place themselves, by mistake, on one of the 
small waves, which breaks before they gain the shore, 
or should find themselves unable to keep their board 



-f ■ ■ 




The Death of Capt. Cook, at the Sandwich Is^nds, 1779- 





































































































































































Sandwich Islanders, 255 

in a proper direction on the upper part of the swell, 
they remain exposed to the fury of the next; to 
avoid which they are under the necessity of diving 
again, and regaining the place whence they set out. 
Those persons who succeed in their object of reach¬ 
ing the shore, are still in a very hazardous situation. 
As the coast is defended by a chain of rocks, with a 
small opening between them in several places, they 
are obliged to steer their plank through one of these 
openings ; or, in case of ill success in that respect, to 
quit it before they reach the rocks, and diving under 
the wave, make their way back again as well as they 
are able. This is considered as highly disgraceful, 
and is attended with the loss of the plank, which has 
been seen dashed to pieces at the very instant the 
native quitted it. The amazing courage and ad¬ 
dress with which they perform these dangerous ma- 
nceuvres are almost incredible. 

According to the accounts given by the natives, 
human sacrifices are more common here than in any 
of the islands that have been visited. They have re¬ 
course to these horrid rites on the commencement of 
a war, and previously to every great battle, or other 
signal enterprize. The death of a chief demands a 
sacrifice of one or more tawtows, according to the 
rank he bears. This practice, however, is the less 
horrible, as the unhappy victims are totally unac¬ 
quainted with their fate. Those who are destined 
to fall arc attacked with large clubs, wherever they 
may happen to be ; and, after they are dead, are con¬ 
veyed to the place where the subsequent rites are to 
be performed. 

The knocking out their fore-teeth may be, with 
propriety, classed among their religious customs.— 
Most of the common people, and many of the chiefs, 
had lost one or more of them; and this seems to 
have been considered as a propitiatory sacrifice to 
the Eatooa, to avert his anger ; and not, like the cut- 


256 Inhabitants of Terra del Fuego* 

ting ofF a part of a finger at the Friendly Islands, to 

express the violence of grief at the decease of a 

friend. 

“ Of their opinions, with respect to a future state, 
we had very defective information. On-enquiring of 
them, whither the dead were gone ? We were told, 
that the breath, which they seem to consider as the 
immortal part, was fled to the Eatooa. They seem¬ 
ed also to give a description of some place, which 
they suppose to be the abode of the dead ; but we 
could not learn that they had any idea of rewards or 
punishments.’* 


TERRA DEL FUEGO. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND 
CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF TERRA DEL 
FUEGO. 

ALTHOUGH we have omitted in its proper place 
an account of the inhabitants of the islands on the 
south of Patagonia, yet they must not be wholly for¬ 
gotten, and with it we shall conclude that part of our 
volume devoted to the description of the Manners 
and Customs of Nations. 

The islands of Terra del Fuego, on the south of 
Patagonia, received their name from the fire and 
smoke which were perceived on them by their first 
discoverers, occasioned by a volcano. The land is 
in general extremely mountainous and rough, and 
covered with almost perpetual snows, which circum¬ 
stance renders the climate almost destitute of animals 
of every kind; here, however human nature finds 
subsistence. The simple and hardy inhabitants are 
low in stature, have only the skins of small seals 
wrapped round their bodies, and subsist principally 




Inhabitants of Terra del Fuego. 257 
on shell-fish. These islands were thought to form a 
part of the continent, till Magellan discovered and 
sailed through the intervening strait. 

North-east of the straits of Magellan lie the Falk¬ 
land Islands, belonging to the English. As these 
islands lie in a similar latitude to that of the south of 
England, they might naturally enough be supposed 
to enjoy nearly the same climate, were it not a well 
known geographical truth, that the southern hemis¬ 
phere is much more inclement than the northern, and 
countries only in latitude 56'® are more frozen than 
Lapland in latitude 70® 

Falkland islands, which are divided from each 
other only by a strait four or five miles in breadth, 
are both dreary and desolate spots, affording neither 
timber nor vegetables in any considerable quantities : 
the coasts, however, are frequented by innumerable 
herds of seals, and vast flights of fowls, particularly 
penguins and albatrosses. 

The island of Juan Fernandes lies to the west of 
South America, about three hundred miles from the 
coast of Chili. This romantic isle, diversified with 
woods and water, with craggy hills and fertile spots, 
is famous for having given rise to the celebrated ro¬ 
mance of Robinson Crusoe. It appears that Alexan¬ 
der Selkirk, a seaman, and native of Scotland, was 
put ashore, and left in this solitary place by his Cap¬ 
tain, where he lived some years, and was discovered 
by Woodes Rodgers in 17G9 : when taken on board, 
he had through disuse so forgot his native language, 
that he could with difficulty be understood; he was 
clothed with the skins of goats, would drink nothing 
but water, and could not for a considerable time rel¬ 
ish the ships provisions. During his residence on 
this island he had killed five hundred goats, which he 
caught by running down ; and many more he marked 
on their ears, and set again at liberty. Commodore 
Anson’s crew caught some of these goats thirty years 





258 Inhabitants of Terra del Fuego, 

after, which discovered in their countenances and 

beards strong marks of age. 

The island of Terra del Fuego, although never 
visited by European navigators but in the summer 
months, is described as among the most dreary and 
desolate spots of the habitable earth, and the few in¬ 
habitants upon it as the most miserable and des¬ 
titute of the human race. The sufferings which Sir 
Joseph Banks, Dr. Solander, and their company, en¬ 
dured, w'hen embarked with Captain Cook on board 
the Endeavour, on this coast, near Strait le Maire, in 
Januaay, 1768, which is the height of summer in 
that hemisphere, answering to July in the northern, 
prove the changeableness of the weather and severity 
of the cold. 

Sir Joseph,, (then Mr.) Banks, and Dr. Solander 
were desirous of availing themselves of a fine day, 
which in that climate is very rare, even at that time 
of the year, to explore a country which had never 
been visited by any botanist. For this purpose, they 
went on shore early in the morning, being twelve 
in company. They presently found great and un¬ 
expected impediments in their progress, by deep 
swamps and thick underwood, so that they were till 
three o’clock in the afternoon employed in ascending 
a mountain ; when suddenly the air, which had been 
till then serene and mild, became cold and piercing, 
and snow began to fall; notwithstanding which they 
proceeded, in expectation of reaching the rocky 
part of the hill, which lay before them at a small 
distance. This perseverance was rewarded by find¬ 
ing a great variety of plants entirely unknown to 
botanists; the day, however, was so far spent, that it 
was impossible to return to the ship that night, and 
the cold had by this time become very intense, and 
large quantities of snow had fallen, so that the most 
dreary prospect presented itself. Whilst they were 
proceeding in search of the nearest valley* Dr, So- 




Inhabitants of Terra del Fuego. 259 
lander, who was well acquainted with the effects of 
intense cold, having passed over the mountains that 
divide Sweden and Norway, represented to the com- 
panv the necessity they were under of continuing in 
motion, however they might feel themselves attacked 
by lassitude and sluggishness; he assured them, that 
whoever sat down would sleep, and whoever slept 
would wake no more. 

They had not proceeded far before the effects ap¬ 
prehended began to be felt, and he, who had thus cau¬ 
tioned others, was the first to dtclar; himself unable 
to observe his own precept; at length, overcome by 
a stupor, he threw himself on the ground, although it 
was covered with snow. A black servant of Mr. 
Banks, named Richmond, next yielded to this fatal 
propensity. In this distress, five of the company 
were sent forward to make a fire at the first conven¬ 
ient place they could find, whilst the rest continued 
with the doctor, making use of every means to keep 
him awake. The poor negro was so overcome with 
fatigue, that being told he must keep in motion or he 
would-be frozen to death, he replied that he only de¬ 
sired to lie down and die. At length all the endeav¬ 
ours of the company became ineffectual; their whole 
strength was not sufficient to carry their two ex¬ 
hausted companions, so that they were suffered to 
sit down, and in a short time fell into a sound sleep, 
in a few minutes after news was brought, that a fire 
was kindled at about the distance of a quarter of a 
mile. Dr. Solander was then waked with great dif¬ 
ficulty ; but during his short sleep, his muscles were 
become so contracted, that his shoes fell off from his 
feet, and he had almost lost the use of his limbs ; 
but all attempts to wake the servant were ineffectual: 
two men who seemed to have suffered the least by 
the cold, were left to look after him, and in a short 
time two others were sent to their relief ; one of the 
former rejoined the company, but the other was quite 




260 Inhabitants of Terra del Fnego* 

insensible ; their companions therefore made them a 
bed of boughs, and spread the same covering over 
them to a considerable height, and in that situation 
left them. 

The company passed the remainder of the night 
in a dreadful situation round the fire, supposing 
themselves at a great distance from the ship, their 
way lying through a trackles wood, and they urjpro- 
vided with refreshments, their only provisions being 
a vulture which they had shot in their journey. Nor 
did the dawn of day remove their apprehensions ; 
for at the approach of light, nothing presented itself 
to their view hut a dreary expanse of snow. It was 
not till six o’clock in the morning that they could 
discover the place of the sun through the clouds, 
which then began somewhat to disperse. With fore¬ 
boding apprehensions they went in search of poor 
Richmond and the other man, whom they found quite 
dead j a dog which belonged to one of them was 
found alive, standing close by his master’s corpse, 
which he unwillingly left to follow the company. 
The hardy nature of this animal enabled him to 
brave the severity of the weather, and he was some 
years ago alive in England. 

About eight o’clock the snow began to melt, and 
the company determined on setting forward. Their 
hunger by this time was become outrageous ; having 
therefore skinned their vulture, they divided it into 
ten parts, every man dressing his own share for him¬ 
self. This scanty meal, which only furnished each 
person with a few mouthfuls, being finished, they 
quitted their fire-side about ten o’clock, and no less 
unexpectedly than joyfully reached the beach where 
the ship lay in about three hours ; for upon tracing 
their advances toward the hill the day before, they 
found that, instead of ascending in a direct line, they 
had almost gone round it. 


The Inhabitants of Terra del Fnego, 





















































































































































































































































» 



( 261 ) 


SOME ACCOUNT OF THE 

CURIOSITIES OF NATURE. 


Havings in the accounts of the ’oarious Manners and 
Habits of the different Nations on the face of the 
Earthy given occasional hut rapid descriptions of 
the Wonders of Nature and Art^ a few chapters 
shall now he devoted to the same subject^ taken up 
in a more particular and methodical manner. The 
reader will then be in possession of a full and com¬ 
plete account of the Globe which he inhabits, 

OF THE EARTH; ITS INTERNAL STRUCTURE; ITS 
CAVES, AND SUBTERRANEOUS PASSAGES. 

WHEN a light survey is taken of the surface of 
our globe, a thousand objects offer thejnselves, which, 
though long known, still excite curiosity. The most 
obvious beauty that strikes the eye is, the verdant 
covering of the earth, which is formed by a happy 
mixture of herbs and trees, of various magnitudes 
and uses. It has been often remarked, that no co¬ 
lour refreshes the eye so well as green; and it may 
be added, as a further proof of the assertion, that the 
inhabitants of those places, where the fields arc con¬ 
tinually white with snow, generally become blind long 
before the usual decay of nature. 

The advantage which arises from the verdure of 
the fields, is not a little improved by their agreeable 
inequalities. There is scarcely two natural land¬ 
scapes that offer prospects entirely resembling each 
other; their risings and depressions, their hills and 
vallies, are never entirely the same, but offer some¬ 
thing new to entertain and enliven the imagination. 

VOL. II. A a 


262 Structure of the Globe^ 

To increase the beauties of the face of nature, the 
landscape is greatly improved by springs and lakes, 
and intersected by rivulets. These lend a brightness 
to the prospect, give motion and coolness to the air, 
and furnish the means of subsistence to animated na- 
ture. 

Such are the most obvious tranquil objects that 
every where offer themselves j but there are others 
of a more awful and magnificent kind : the moun¬ 
tains rising above the clouds, and topt with snow; 
the river pouring down the sides, increasing as it 
runs, and losing itself at last, in the ocean ; the 
ocean spreading its immense sheet of waters over 
more than half the globe, swelling and subsiding at 
well known intervals, and forming a communication 
between the most distant parts of the earth. 

If we leave those objects that seem natural to our 
earth, but which keep the same constant tenor, we 
are presented with the great irregularities of nature. 

The burning mountain ; the abrupt precipice ; the 
unfathomable cavern; the headlong cataract; and 
the rapid whirlpool. 

In descending to the objects immediately below 
the surface of the globe, we shall there find wonders 
still as amazing. For the most part the earth lies in 
regular beds or layers of various substances, every 
bed growing thicker in proportion as it lies deeper, 
and its contents become more dense and compact. 

We shall find in almost all our subterraneous in¬ 
quiries an amazing number of shells, that once be¬ 
longed to aquatic animals. Here and there, at a dis¬ 
tance from the sea, are beds of oyster-shells, several 
yards thick, and many miles over. These which are 
dug up by the peasants in every country, are regarded 
with little curiosity, because they are not uncommon. 
But it is otherwise with the enquirer into nature; 
he finds them, not only in shape, but in substance, 
every way resembling those that are bred in the sea, 


and Subterraneous Passages* 263 

and he is, therefore, at a loss to account for their re¬ 
moval. 

Yet not one part of nature alone, but all her pro¬ 
ductions and varieties become the objects of the phi¬ 
losopher’s inquiry ; every appearance, however com¬ 
mon, affords matter for his contemplation : he en¬ 
quires how and why the surface of the earth has 
come to have those risings and depressions, which 
most men call natural; he demands in what manner 
the mountains were formed, and in what their uses 
consist: he asks from whence springs arise; and 
how rivers flow round the convexity of the globe | 
he enters into the examination of the ebbings and 
flowings, and the other wonders of the deep j he ac¬ 
quaints himself with the irregularities of nature, and 
will endeavour to investigate their causes, by which, 
at least, he will become better acquainted with their 
history. The internal structure of the globe becomes 
an object of his curiosity; and though his enquiries 
can fathom but little way, yet his imagination will 
supply the rest. He will endeavour to account for 
the situation of the marine fossils that are found in 
the earth, and for the appearance of the different beds 
of which it is composed. These have been enqui¬ 
ries, that have of late years, employed men of splen¬ 
did talents ; indefatigable in their pursuits ; zealous¬ 
ly attached to the investigation of truth, and whose 
well-directed industry merit applause and gratitude. 

Men have proceeded to very small depths below 
the earth’s surface, and even in these instances they 
have been actuated more by avarice than curiosity. 
The deepest mine, which is that at Cotteburg, in 
Hungary, reaches not more than two-thirds of a mile, 
a distance which vanishes, when compared with four 
thousand miles, the distance of the centre from the 
surface of the earth. A bee who darts his sting into 
an ox or an elephant makes a greater way, in propor¬ 
tion, towards discovering the internal structure of 


264 Structure of the Glohe^ 

those animals than man has yet made in his puny 

endeavours to penetrate the body of the globe. 

Upon examining the earth, where it has been open¬ 
ed to any depth, the first coat that is commonly found 
at the surface is that light coat of blackish mould, 
which, by some is called garden-earthy which has 
been probably formed from animal and vegetable 
bodies decaying, and turning into this substance. It 
also serves again as a store-house, from whence ani¬ 
mal and vegetable natures are renewed; and thus 
are all the vital blessings continued with unceasing 
circulation. This external covering supplies man 
with all the true riches he enjoys. He may bring up 
gold and jewels from greater depths, but they are 
merely toys of a capricious being, things upon which 
he has placed an imaginary value, and for which the 
unwise alone part with the more substantial blessings 
of life. It is this earth, says Pliny, that, like a kind 
mother, receives us at our birth, and sustains us when 
born. It is this alone, of all the elements around us, 
that is never found the enemy of man : the body of 
waters deluge him with rains, oppress him with hail, 
and drown him with inundations ; the air rushes in 
storms, prepares the tempest, or lights up the volca¬ 
no ; but the earth, gentle and indulgent, ever subser¬ 
vient to the wants of man, spreads his walk with flow¬ 
ers, and his table with plenty; returns with interest 
every good committed to her care ,* and though she 
produces some poisons, she also furnishes antidotes. 

If from this external surface we descend deeper, 
and view the earth cut perpendicularly downwards, 
the layers will be found regularly disposed in their 
proper order, though they are different in different 
situations. These layers are sometimes very exten¬ 
sive, and are often found to spread over a space of 
some leagues in circumference. But it must not be 
supposed that they are uniformly continued over the 
whole globe, without any interruption : on the con- 


and Subterraneous Passages, 265 

trary, they are ever, at small intervals, cracked 
through, as it were, by perpendicular fissures ; the 
earth resembling, in this respect, the muddy bottom 
of a pond, from whence the water has been dried off 
by the sun, and thus gaping in several chinks, which 
descend in a direction perpendicular to its surface. 
These fissures are many times found empty, but more 
frequently close with adventitious substances, which 
the rain, or some accidental causes, have conveyed 
to fill their cavities. Their openings are not less dif¬ 
ferent than their contents, some not being above 
half an inch wide, some a foot, and some several 
hundred yards assunder. These last form those 
dreadful chasms that are to be found in the Alps, at 
the edge of which the traveller stands, dreading to 
look down at the unfathomable gulph below. 

But the chasms to be found in the Alps are nothing 
to what may be seen in the Andes. These amazing 
mountains, in comparison of which the former are 
but little hills, have their fissures in proportion to 
their magnitude. In some places they are a mile 
wide, and deep in proportion ; and there are others 
that run under ground, and resemble in extent a pro¬ 
vince. 

Of this kind also is that cavern called Eden-hole^ 
in Derbyshire, which was sounded by a line two- 
thousand eight hundred feet in length, without find¬ 
ing the bottom, or meeting with water ; and yet the 
mouth at the top is not above forty yards over. This 
immeasurable cavern runs perpendicularly down¬ 
ward ; and the sides of it seem to tally so plainly, as 
to shew that they once were united. Those who visit 
the place generally procure stones, to be thrown down, 
which, striking against the side of the cavern, pro¬ 
duce a sound that resembles distant thunder, dying 
away as the stone goes deeper. 

Besides these fissures, we frequently find others 
that descend but a little way, and then spread them- 
A a 2 


266 Structure of the Glohe^ 

selves often to a great extent below the surface.— 
Many of these caverns, it must de confessed, may be 
the production of art and human industry; retreats 
made, perhaps, to protect the oppiessed, or shelter 
the spoiler. The famous labyrinth of Candia is sup¬ 
posed to be the work of art. The stone*quarry of 
Maestricht is evidently made by labour; carts enter 
at its mouth, and load within, then return, and dis¬ 
charge their freight into boats that lie on the brink 
of the Maese. This quarry is so large, that forty 
thousand people may take shelter in it: and it in ge¬ 
neral serves for this purpose when armies march that 
way, becoming then an impregnable retreat to the 
people that live in the neighbourhood. Nothing can 
be more beautiful than this cavern, when lighted up 
with torches ; for there are thousands of square pil¬ 
lars in large level walks, about twenty feet high, and 
all wrought with much neatness and regularity. To 
add to its beauty, there are also in various parts of it 
little pools of water, for the convenience of men and 
cattle. 

The salt mines in Poland are still more spacious 
than these. Some catacombs in Egypt and Italy are 
said to be very extensive, but no part of the world 
has a greater number of artificial caverns than Spain, 
which were made to serve as retreats to the Chris¬ 
tians against the fury of the Moors, when they con¬ 
quered that country. 

There is scarcely a country in the world without 
its natural caverns, and many new ones are discover¬ 
ed every day. In England we have Oak ley* Hole, 
the Devil’s-Hole, and Penpark Hole. The former 
lies on the south side of Mendip-Hills, within a mile 
of the town of Wells. To conceive a just idea of 
this, we must imagine a precipice of more than a 
hundred yards high, on the side of a mountain, which 
shelves away a mile above. In this is an opening, 
into which you enter, going along upon a rocky, un- 


and Subterraneous Passages. 267 

even pavement, sometimes ascending, and sometimes 
descending. The roof in some places is fifty feet 
from the floor, and in others it is so low that a man 
must stoop to pass. From every part of the floor, 
and in others it is so low that a man must stoop to 
pass. From every part of the floor there are formed 
sparry concretions of various figures, that have been 
likened to men, lions, &c. At the fartherest part of 
this cavern rises a stream of water, well stored with 
fish, large enough to turn a mill, and which dis¬ 
charges itself near the entrance. 

But of all the subterranean caverns now known, 
the grotto of Antiparos is the most remarkable ; it is 
thus described by a person who actually visited it,— 
“ Having walked about four miles through the midst 
of beautiful plains and sloping woodlands, we at 
length came to a little hill, ©n the side of which 
yawned a most horrid cavern, that with its gloom 
at first struck us with terror, and almost repressed 
curiosity. When we had recovered our surprise, we 
proceeded ; we found a sparry concretion, formed by 
the water dropping from the roof of the cave, and, 
by degrees, hardening into a figure, that the natives 
had been accustomed to look at as a giant. As we 
proceeded, new wonders offered themselves ; the 
spars, formed into trees and shrubs, presented a kind 
of petrified grove, some white, some green, and all 
receding in due perspective. They struck us with 
the more amazement, as we knew them to be mere 
productions of nature, who, hitherto in solitude, had 
in her playful moments dressed the scene, as if for 
her amusement. 

“ We then descended into a spacious amphitheatre, 
in which we lighted our flambeaux, and when the 
place was completely illuminated, never could the 
eye be presented with a more glittering or a more 
magnificent scene. The roof all hung with solid ici¬ 
cles, transparent as glass, yet solid as marble. The 


268 Structure of the Globe^ 

eye could scarcely reach the lofty and noble ceiling; 
the sides were regularly formed with spars, the whole 
presented the idea of a magnificent theatre, illumin¬ 
ated with an immense profusion of lights. The floor 
consisted of solid marble; and in the several places, 
magnificent columns, thrones, altars, and other ob¬ 
jects, appeared as if nature had designed to mock the 
curiosities of art. Our voices, upon speaking or 
singing, were redoubled to an astonishing loudness ; 
and upon the firing of a gun, the noise and reverbera¬ 
tions were almost deafening. In the midst of this 
grand amphitheatre rose a concretion about fifteen 
feet high, that in some measure resembled an altar, 
from which, taking the hint, we caused mass to be 
celebrated there. The beautiful columns that shot 
up round the altar appeared like candlesticks; and 
many other natural objects represented the customa¬ 
ry ornaments of this sacrament.” 

On another account, the grotto Del Cane, near Na¬ 
ples, deserves notice. It lies on the side of a hill, 
near which a peasant resides, who keeps a number of 
dogs, for the purpose of shewing the experiment to 
the curious. Upon entering this place, which is a 
little cave, the observer can see no visible marks of 
its pestilential vapour; only to within a foot of the 
bottom, the wall seems to be tinged with a colour 
resembling that which is given by stagnant waters. 
When the dog, this philosophical martyr, as some 
have called him, is held above this mark, he does not 
seem to feel the smallest inconvenience; but when 
his head is thrust down lower, he struggles to get 
free for a little ; but, in the space of four or five min¬ 
utes, he appears to loose all sensation, and is taken 
out seemingly without life. Being plunged in the 
neighbouring lake, he quickly recovers, and runs 
home, without the smallest apparent injury. 


( 269 ) 

OF MOUNTAINS. 

IN those countries which consist only of plains, 
the smallest elevations are apt to excite wonder. In 
Holland, which is entirely flat, a little ridge of hills 
is shewn near the sea-side, which Boerhaave gene¬ 
rally pointed out to his pupils as mountains of no 
small consideration. What would be the sensations 
of such an auditory, could they at once be presented 
with a view of the heights and precipices of the An¬ 
des and the Alps. liven in England, we have no 
adequate ideas of a mountain prospect; our hills are 
generally sloping from the plain, and clothed to the 
very top with verdure ; we can scarcely, therefore, 
lift our imaginations to those immense piles, whose 
tops peep up behind intervening clouds, sharp and 
precipitate, and reach to heights that human curiosi¬ 
ty has never hem able to attain. 

Even mountains have their uses. It has been 
thought that the animal and vegetable part of the 
creation would perish for want of convenient humid¬ 
ity, were it not for their assistance. Their summits 
are supposed to arrest the clouds and vapours which 
float in the regions of the air ; their large inflexions 
and channels are considered as so many conduits, 
prepared for the reception of those thick vapours and 
impetuous rains which descend into them. The huge 
caverns beneath are so many magazines of water, for 
the peculiar service of man : and those orifices, by 
which the water is discharged upon the plain, are so 
situated as to enrich and render them fruitful, instead 
of returning through subterraneous channels to the 
sea, after the performance of a tedious and fruitless 
circulation. 

It is moreover certain, that almost all our great 
rivers find their source among mountains ; and, in 
general, the more extensive the mountain, the greater 


270 Of Mount atm* 

the river ; thus the river Amazon, the greatest in the 
world has its source among the Andes, which are the 
highest mountains on the globe ; the river Niger tra¬ 
vels a long course of several hundred miles from the 
mountains of the Moon, the highest in Africa ; and 
the Danube and the Rhine proceed from the Alps, 
which are probably the highest mountains of Europe. 

The traveller, as he ascends a mountain, finds the 
grass become more mossy, and the weather more 
moderate. Higher up, the air is colder, and the 
earth more barren. In the midst of his dreary pas¬ 
sage, he is often entertained with a little valley of 
surprising verdure, caused by the reflected heat of 
the sun collected into a narrow spot on the surround¬ 
ing heights. But it more frequently happens that he 
sees only frightful precipices beneath, and lakes of 
amazing depths, from whence rivers are formed, and 
whence springs derive their origin. Near the sum^- 
mit, vegetation is scarcely carried on : here and there 
a few plants of the most hardy kind appear. The 
air is intolerably cold ; the ground wears an eternal 
covering of ice, and snow seems constantly accumu¬ 
lating. Upon emerging from this scene, he ascends 
into a purer and serener region, where vegetation has 
entirely ceased ; where the precipices, composed 
entirely of rocks, rise perpendicularly above him ; 
while he views beneath him all the combat of the ele¬ 
ments j clouds at his feet, and lightnings dart up¬ 
ward from their bosoms below. A thousand mete¬ 
ors, which are never seen on the plains, present them¬ 
selves ; circular rainbows, mock suns, the shadow of 
the mountain projected upon the body of the air, and 
the traveller’s own image, reflected, as in a looking- 
glass, upon the opposite clouds. Such are, in gene¬ 
ral, the wonders that present themselves to a travel- 
ler, in his journey either over the Alps or the Andes. 

To enumerate the most remarkable mountains a,c- 
cording to their size, we shall begin with the Andes, 


Of Mountains, 271 

of which the following is extracted from an excellent 
description, givenhy Ulloa, who went thither by com¬ 
mand of the king of Spain. 

“ After,” says he, “ having travelled for upwards 
of three days through boggy roads, in which the 
mules at every step sunk up to their bellies, we be¬ 
gan at length to perceive an alteration in the climate; 
and having been long accustomed to heat, we now 
began to feel it grown sensibly colder. 

“ At Tariguagua we often see instances of the ef¬ 
fects of two opposite temperatures in two persons 
happening to meet, one of them leaving the plains 
below, and the other descending from the mountain. 
The former thinks the cold so severe, that he wraps 
himself in all the garments he can procure ; while the 
latter finds the heat so great, that he is scarcely able 
to bear any clothes whatsoever. The one thinks the 
wafer so cold, that he avoids being sprinkled by it; 
the other is so delighted with its warmth, that he uses 
it as a bath. This difference only proceeds from the 
change naturally felt at leaving a climate to which 
one has been accustomed, and coming into another of 
an opposite temperature. 

‘‘ The ruggedness of the road is not easily descri¬ 
bed. In some parts the declivity is so great, that 
the mules can scarce keep their footing, and in oth¬ 
ers the acclivity is equally difficult. There are some 
places where the road is so steep, and yet so nar¬ 
row, that the mules are obliged to slide down, 
without making the least use of their feet. On one 
side of the rider in this situation rises an eminence 
of several hundred yards, and on the other an abyss 
of equal depth ; so that if he in the least checks his 
mule, they must both unavoidably perish. 

“ After having travelled nine days in this manner, 
slowly winding along the side of the mountain, we 
began to find the whole country covered with a hoar 
frost. At length, after a journey of fifteen days, we 


072 Of Mountama, 

arrived upon a plain, on one extremity of which 
stands the city of Quito, the capital of one of the 
most charming regions upon earth. Here, in the 
centre of the torrid zone, the heat is not only very 
tolerable, but in some places the cold also is painful. 
Here they enjoy all the temperature and advantages 
of perpetual spring, their fields being always cover¬ 
ed with verdure, and enammelled with flowers of 
the most lively fcolours. However, although this 
beautiful region be higher than any country in the 
world, and although it took so many days of painful 
journey in the ascent, it is still overlooked by tre¬ 
mendous mountains ; their sides covered with snow, 
and yet flaming with volcanoes at the top. These 
seem piled one upon the other, and rise to a most as¬ 
tonishing height, with great coldness. However, at 
a determined point above the surface of the sea, the 
congelation is found at the same height in all the 
mountains. Those parts which are not subject to a 
continual frost, have growing upon them a sort of 
rush, very soft and flexible. Higher up, the earth is 
entirely bare of vegetation, and seems covered with 
eternal snow. The most remarkable mountains are, 
the Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, and Pichincha. The first 
is more than three geographic miles above the sur¬ 
face of the sea, the rest are not much inferior. On 
the top of the latter I suffered particular hardships, 
from the intenseness of the cold and the violence of 
the storms. The sky around was, in general, in¬ 
volved in thick fogs, which, when they cleared away, 
and the clouds by their gravity moved nearer to the 
surface of the earth, appeared surrounding the foot 
of the mountain, at a vast distance below, like a sea 
encompassing an island in the midst of it. When 
this happened, the horrid noises of tempests were 
heard from beneath, their discharging themselves on 
Quito, and the neighbouring country. I saw light¬ 
nings issue from the clouds, and heard the thunders 


Of Mountaim, 273 

roll far beneath me. All this time, while the tem¬ 
pest was raging below, the mountain top where I 
was placed enjoyed a delightful serenity : the wind 
was abated, the sky clear, and the rays of the sun 
moderated the severity of the cold. However, this 
was of no long duration, for the wind returned with 
all its violence ; whilst my fears were increased by 
the dreadful concussions of the precipice, and the fall 
of enormous rocks, the only sound that was heard in 
this dreadful situation.” 

If we compare the Alps with the Andes, we shall 
find them but little more than half of the height of the 
latter. The highest of the Alps are not above one 
mile and a half, whereas those of the Andes are more 
than three miles in perpendicular height from the 
surface of the sea. The highest mountains of Asia 
are. Mount Taurus, Mount Caucasus, and the moun¬ 
tains of Japan ; of these, none equals the Andes 
in height, although Caucasus makes very near ap¬ 
proaches. In Africa, the mountains of the Moon, 
famous for giving source to the Niger and the Nile, 
are more celebrated than accurately known. Of the 
peak of TenerilFe we have more certain information. 
It was visited by a company of English merchants, 
who travelled up to the top, when they observed its 
height, and the volcano on its very summit. They 
found it a heap of mountains, the highest of which 
rises over the rest like a sugar loaf, and gives a name 
to the whole mass. 

The difficulty and danger of ascending to the tops 
of mountains have been supposed to proceed from the 
thinness of the air; but the more probable reason is 
to be looked for from the rugged and precipitate as¬ 
cent. In some places they appear like a wall of six 
or seven hundred feet high; in others there stick out 
enormous rocks, that hang upon the brow of the 
steep, and every moment threaten destruction to the 
traveller below. 

VOL. II. B b 


274 Of Mountains. 

In this manner almost all the tops of the highest 
mountains are bare and pointed, which proceeds, pro¬ 
bably, from their being so continually assaulted by 
thunders and tempests. All the earthy substances, 
with which they might have been once covered, have 
foi ages been washed away from their summits, and 
nothing is left remaining but immense rocks, which 
no tempests have hitherto been able to destroy. 

Nevertheless, time is every day and every hour 
making depredations ; and huge fragments are seen 
tumbling down the precipice, either loosened by frost, 
or struck by lightning. Nothing can exhibit a more 
terrible picture than one of these enormous rocks, 
commonly large r than a house, falling from its height, 
with a noise louder than thunder, and rolling down 
the side of the mountain. 

In the month of June, 1714 , a part of a mountain 
in the district of Vallais, in France, suddenly fell 
down, between two and three o’clock in the after¬ 
noon, the weather being calm and serene. It was of 
a conical figure, and destroyed fifty-five cottages in 
the fall. Fifteen persons, together with about an 
hundred beasts, were also crushed beneath the ruins, 
which covered an extent of nine square miles. The 
dust it occasioned, instantly overwhelmed all the 
neighbourhood in darkness. The heaps of rubbish 
were more than three hundred feet high; they stop¬ 
ped the current of a river that ran along the plain, 
which is now formed into several new and deep 
lakes. In the same manner, the entire town of 
Pleurs, in France, was buried beneath a rocky 
mountain, at the foot of which it was situated. 


{ 275 ) 

OF RIVERS AND CATARACTS. 


ALL rivers have their source either in mountains 
or elevated lakes : and it is in their descent from these, 
that they acquire that velocity which maintains their 
future current. At first the course of a river is gene¬ 
rally rapid ; but it is retarded in its journey, both by 
the continual friction against the banks, by the many 
obstacles it meets with to divert its stream, and by 
the surface of the earth becoming more level as it 
approaches towards the sea. 

The largest rivers of Europe are, first the Wolga, 
which is about six hundred and fifty leagues in length, 
extending from Reschow to Astracan. 

The next in order is the Danube : the course of 
this river is about four hundred and fifty leagues, 
from the mountains of Switzerland to the Black Sea. 
The Don, or Tanais, which is four hundred leagues 
from the source of that branch of it called the Sofna, 
to its mouth in the Euxine sea. The Nieper, which 
rises in Muscovy, and runs a course of three hun¬ 
dred and fifty leagues, to empty itself into the Black 
Sea. The Dwina, which takes its rise in a province 
of the same name in Russia, then runs a course of 
three hundred leagues, and disembougues into the 
White Sea, a little below Archangel. 

The largest rivers of Asia are, the Hoanho, in 
China, which is eight hundred and fifty leagues in 
length. The Jenisca, of Tartary, about eight hun¬ 
dred leagues in length. The Oby, of five hundred 
leagues, running from the lake of Kila into the North¬ 
ern Sea. The Amour, in Eastern Tartary, whose 
course is about five hundred and seventy-five leagues, 
from its source to its entrance into the sea of Kamt- 
schatka. The Kiam, in China, five hundred and fifty 
leagues in length. The Ganges, one of the most no¬ 
ted rivers in the world, and about as long as the 

\ 


276 Of Rivers and Cataracts, 

former; it rises in the mountains which separate 
India from Tartary, and, running through the do¬ 
minions of the great Mogul, discharges itself by se¬ 
veral mouths into the Bay of Bengal. It is not only 
esteemed by the Indians for the depth and pureness of 
its stream, but for a supposed sanctity, which they be¬ 
lieve to pertain to its waters. It is visited annually 
by several hundred thousand pilgrims, who pay their 
devotions to the river, as to a god ; for savage sim¬ 
plicity is always known to mistake the blessings of 
the Deity for the Deity himself. 

Next to this may be reckoned the still more cele¬ 
brated river Euphrates. Nor must the Indus be for¬ 
gotten. 

The largest rivers of Africa are, the Senegal, whose 
course is said to be three thousand miles in length; 
and the celebrated Nile, which, from its source 
among the mountains of the Moon, in Upper Ethio¬ 
pia, to the Mediterranean, is thought to extend as 
far. The annual overflowings of this river arise 
from a very obvious cause, which affects almost all 
great rivers that have their source near the line.— 
The rainy season, which is periodical in those clim¬ 
ates, floods the rivers ; and as this always happens in 
our summer, so the Nile is at that time overflown.— 
From these inundations the inhabitants of Egypt de¬ 
rive plenty and happiness. 

But of all parts of the world, America, as it ex¬ 
hibits the most lofty mountains, so it supplies the 
largest rivers. The principal of these is the great 
river Amazon, which performs a course of nearly 
four thousand miles. The breadth and depth of this 
river is answerable to its vast length, and where its 
width is most contracted, its depth is augmented in 
proportion. So great is the body of its waters, that 
other considerable rivers, objects of its admiration, 
are swallowed in its bosom. It proceeds after their 
function with its usual appearance, without any visl- 


Of Rivers and Cataracts, 277 

ble change in its breadth or rapidity, and remains 
great without ostentation. In some places it dis¬ 
plays its whole magnificence, dividing into several 
branches, encompassing a multitude of islands ; and 
at length discharging itself into the ocean, by a chan¬ 
nel which is an hundred and fifty miles broad. 

The JVile has its cataracts ; the Velino in Italy has 
one more than an hundred and fifty feet perpendicu¬ 
lar. Near the city of Gottenburgh in Sweden, a riv¬ 
er rushes down from a prodigious precipice into a 
deep pit, with a terrible noise, and such dreadful 
force, that those trees designed for the masts of 
ships, which are floated down the river, are usually 
turned upside down in their fall, and often shattered 
to pieces by falling sideways, and being dashed against 
the surface of the water in the pit: if they fall end¬ 
ways they drive so far below the surface, as to dis¬ 
appear for a quarter of an hour or more ; the pit in- 
' to which they are thus plunged has been sounded 
with a line of several thousand yards, but no bottom 
has hitherto been found. • 

Of all the cataracts in the world, that of Niagara in 
Canada is the greatest and most astonishing. This 
amazing fall of water is made by the river Saint 
Lawrence, in its passage from lake Eire into lake 
Ontario. This river is one of the largest in the 
world, and the whole of its waters are here poured 
down by a fall of an hundred and fifty feet perpen¬ 
dicular. It is not easy to bring the imagination to 
correspond with the greatness of the scene : a river 
extremely deep and rapid, and that serves to drain 
the waters of most all North-America into the At- 
ianic ocean, is here poured precipitately down a ledge 
of rocks, that rise, like a wall, across the whole bed 
of its stream. The width of the river, a little above, 
is nearly three quarters of a mile broad ; and the 
rocks where it grows narrower, are four hundred 
yards over. Their direction is not straight across, 
B b 2 


278 Of Rivers and Cataracts* 

but hollowing inwards like a horse-shoe ; so that the 
cataract, which bends to the shape of the obstacle, 
rounding inwards, presents a kind of theatre the most 
tremendous in nature. Just in the middle of this 
circular wall of waters, a little Island that has braved 
the fury of the current, presents one of its points, and 
divides the stream at top into two, but it unites again 
long before it has got to the bottom. The noise of 
the fall is heard at several leagues distance ; and the 
fury of the waters at the bottom of the fall is incon¬ 
ceivable, The dashing produces a mist that rises to 
the very clouds, and that produces a most beautiful 
rainbow when the sun shines. It may be easily con¬ 
ceived, that such a cataract destroys the navigation 
of the stream ; and yet some Indian canoes, as it is 
said, have been known to venture down it with 
safety. 

Thus, to whatever quarter of the globe we turn, 
we shall find new reasons to be satisfied with that 
part in which we ourselves reside. Our rivers fur¬ 
nish all the plenty of the African stream, without its 
inundations; they have all the coolness of the polar 
rivulet, with a more constant supply ; they may want 
ihe terrible magnificence of huge cataracts, or exten¬ 
sive lakes; but they are more navigable, and more 
transparent, though less deep and rapid, than the riv¬ 
ers of the torrid zone, they are more manageable, 
and only wait the will of man to take their direction. 
The rivers of the torrid zone, like the monarchs of 
the country, rule with despotic tyranny, profuse in 
their bounties, and ungovernable in their rage. The 
rivers of Britain, like its kings, are the friends, not 
the oppressors of the people; bounded by known lim¬ 
its, abridged in the power of doing ill, and only at 
liberty to distribute happiness and plenty. 


( 279 ) 

OF THE OCEAN. 

IF we look upon the map of the world, we shall 
find that the waters occupy considerably more than 
the land. Although the ocean is but one extensive 
sheet of waters, continued over every part of the 
globe without interruption, yet geographers have dis¬ 
tinguished it by different names, as the Atlantic, the 
Northern, Southern, Pacific, and Indian oceans. 

In this vast receptacle, almost all the rivers of the 
earth ultimately terminate ; nor do such great sup¬ 
plies seem to increase its stores ; for it is neither ap¬ 
parently swollen by their tribute, nor diminished by 
their failure ; it continues the same. What, indeed, 
is the quantity of waters of all the rivers and lakes in 
the world, compared to that contained in this great 
receptacle ? If we should offer to make a rude esti¬ 
mate, we shall find that all the rivers in the world, 
flowing into the bed of the sea, with a continuance of 
their present stores, would take up at least eight hun¬ 
dred years to fill to its present height. 

In the temperate climates the sea is never frozen, 
but the polar regions are embarrassed with moun¬ 
tains of ice, that render them impassable. The tre¬ 
mendous floats of different magnitudes; sometimes 
rising more than a thousand feet above the surface 
of the water ; sometimes diffused into plains of above 
two hundred leagues, in length; and in many sixty 
or eighty broad. They are usually divided by fis¬ 
sures ; one piece following another so close, that a 
person may step from one to the other. Sometimes 
mountains are seen rising amidst these plains, and 
presenting the appearance of a variegated landscape, 
with hills and vallies, houses, churches, and towers. 

There are two sorts of ice floating in these seas; 
the flat ice and the mountain ice: the one is formed 
of sea-water; the other of fresh. The flat or driv- 


280 Of the Ocean^ 

ing ice is entirely composed of sea water; which up’ 
on dissolution, is found to be salt, and is readily dis¬ 
tinguished from the mountain or fresh-water ice, by 
its whiteness and want of transparency. This ice is 
much more terrible to mariners than that which rises 
up in lumps : a ship can avoid the one, as it is seen 
at a distance; but it often gets in among the other, 
which sometimes closing, crushes it to pices. 

The mountain ice is often incorporated with earth, 
stones, and brushwood, washed from the shore. On 
these also are sometimes found, not only earth, but 
nests with bird’s eggs, at several hundred miles from 
land. These mountains are usually seen at spring 
time, and after a violent storm, driving out to sea, 
where they at first terrify the mariner, and are soon 
after dashed to pieces by the continual washing of 
the waves, or driven into the warmer regions of the 
south, to be melted away. 

A body of ice is often prominent far over the 
rocks. It does not melt on the upper surface, but un¬ 
derneath, and also cracks into many larger or smaller 
clefts, from whence the thawed water tricles out. By 
this it becomes, at last, so weak, that, being overload¬ 
ed with its own ponderous bulk, it breaks loose, and 
tumbles down the rocks with a terrible crash. Where 
it happens to overhang a precipice on the shore, it 
plunges into the deep with a shock like thunder, and 
with such an agitation of the water, as will overset 
a boat at a considerable distance, as many a poor 
Greenlander has fatally experienced. 

In the ocean there are many dangerous whirlpools ; 
that called the Maelstroom^ upon the coast of Nor¬ 
way, is considered as the most dreadful and vora¬ 
cious in the world. The name given to it by the na¬ 
tives signifies the navel of the sea^ since they sup¬ 
pose that a great share of the water of the sea is 
sucked up and discharged by its vortex. A minute 
description of the internal parts is not to be expected, 


Conclusion, 281 

since none who were there ever returned to bring 
back information. The body of waters that form 
this whirlpool are extended in a circle about thirteen 
miles in circumference. In the midst of this stands 
a rock, against which the tide in its ebb is dashed 
with inconceivable fury. At this time it instantly 
swallows up all things that come within the sphere of 
its violence, trees, timber, and shipping. No skill in 
the mariner, nor strength of rowing, can work an es¬ 
cape ; the sailor at the helm, finds the ship at first go 
in a current opposite to his intentions; his vessel’s 
motion, though slow in the beginning, becomes every 
moment more rapid, it goes round in circles still nar¬ 
rower and narrower, till at last it is dashed against 
the rocks, and instantly disappears; nor is it seen 
again for six hours, till, the tide flowing, it is vomit¬ 
ed forth with the same violence with which it was 
drawn in. The noise of this dreadful vortex still 
farther contributes to increase its terror, which, with 
the dashing of the waters, and the dreadful valley 
caused by their circulation, makes one of the most 
tremendous objects in nature. 


CONCLUSION. 

INCLUDING A BRIEF VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE. 

HAVING thus gone through a particular descrip¬ 
tion of the earth, let us now pause for a moment, to 
contemplate the great picture before us. The uni¬ 
verse may be considered as the palace in which the 
Deity resides, and this earth as one of its apartments. 
Those great outlines of nature, to which art cannot 
reach, and where our greatest efforts must have been 
inefiPectual God himself has finished with amazing 
grandeur and beauty. Our beneficent Father has 


282 Conclusion. 

considered these parts of nature as peculiarly his 
own; as parts which no creature could have skill or 
strength to amend ; and, therefore, made them inca¬ 
pable of alteration, or of more perfect regularity.— 
The heavens and the firmament shew the wisdom 
and the glory of the workman. Astronomers, who 
are best skilled in the symmetry of systems, can find 
nothing there that they can alter lor the better, God 
made these perfect, because no subordinate being 
could correct their defects. 

When, therefore, we survey nature on this side, 
nothing can be more splendid, more correct, or ama¬ 
zing We then behold a Deity residing in the midst 
of the Universe, infinitely extended every way, ani¬ 
mating all, and cheering the vacuity with his pre¬ 
sence! We behold an immense and shapeless mass 
of matter formed into worlds by his power, and dis¬ 
persed at intervals, to which even the imagination 
cannot travel ! in this great theatre of his glory, a 
thousand suns, like our own, animate their respect¬ 
ive systems, appearing and vanishing at the divine 
command. We behold our own bright luminary fix¬ 
ed in the centre of its system, wheeling its planets 
in times proportioned to their distances, and at once 
dispensing light, heat and motion. The earth also is 
seen with its two-fold motion, producing by the one 
the change of seasons, and by the other the grateful 
vicissitudes of day and night. With what silent mag¬ 
nificence is all this performed ! With what seeming 
ease ! The works of art are exerted with an inter¬ 
rupted force ; and their noisy progress discovers the 
obstructions they receive : but the earth, with a si¬ 
lent, steady rotation, successively presents every part 
of its bosom to the sun, at once imbibing nourishment 
and light from that parent of vegetation and felicity. 

But not only provisions of heat and light are thus 
supplied, but its whole surface is covered with a 
transparent atmosphere that turns with its motion, and 


Conclusion, 283 

guards it from external injury. The rays of the sun 
are thus broken into a ge.nial warmth; and while the 
surface is assisted, a gentle heat is produced in the 
bowels of the earth, which contributes to cover it 
with verdure. Waters also are supplied in healthful 
abundance, to support life and assist vegetation.— 
Mountains arise to diversify the prospect, and give a 
current to the stream. Seas extend from one conti¬ 
nent to the other, replenished with animals that may 
be turned to human support; and also serving to en¬ 
rich the earth with a sufficiency of vapour. Breezes 
fly along the surface of the fields to promote health 
and vegetation. The coolness of the evening invites 
to rest; and the freshness of the morning invigorates 
for labour. 

Such are the delights of the habitation that has 
been assigned to man : without any one of these, he 
must have been wretched ; and none of these could 
his own industry have supplied. But while many of 
his wants are thus kindly furnished on the one hand, 
tfiere are numberless inconveniencies to excite his in¬ 
dustry on the other. This habitation, though provid¬ 
ed with all the conveniences of air, pasturage and 
water, is but a desert place, without human cultiva¬ 
tion. The lowest animal finds more conveniences in 
the wilds of nature, than he who boasts himself their 
lord. The whirlwind, the inundation, and all the as¬ 
perities of the air, are peculiarly terrible to man, who 
knows their consequences, and at a distance dreads 
their approach. The earth itself, where human art 
has not pervaded, puts on a frightful, gloomy appear¬ 
ance. The forests are dark and tangled, the mead¬ 
ows overgrown with rank weeds, and the brooks stray 
without a determined channel. Nature, that has been 
kind to every lower order of beings, has been quite 
neglectful with regard to Man ; to the savage uncon¬ 
triving man the earth is an abode of desolation, where 
his shelter is insufficient, and his food precarious. 





284 Brief View of the Universe, 

A world, thus furnished with advantages on one 
side, and inconveniences on the other, is the proper 
abode of reason, is the fittest to exercise the indus¬ 
try of a free and a thinking creature. These evils, 
which art can remedy, and prescience guard against, 
are a proper call for the exertion of his faculties, and 
they tend still more to assimulate him to his Creator. 
God beholds, with pleasure, that being, which he has 
made, converting the wretchedness of his natural situ¬ 
ation into a theatre of triumph; bringing all the 
headlong tribes of nature into subjection to his will, 
and producing that order and uniformity upon earth, 
of which his own heavenly fabric is so bright an ex¬ 
ample. 

To convey some idea of the immensity of crea¬ 
tion, and the omnipotence of its Author, we subjoin 
the following: 

BRIEF VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE. 

When the shades of night have spread their veil 
over the plains, the firmament manifests to our viev 
its grandeur and its riches. The sparkling points 
with which it is studded are so many suns, suspend¬ 
ed by the Almighty in the immensity of space, to 
worlds which roll around them. 

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the fir¬ 
mament sheweth his handy work. The royal poet, 
who expressed himself with such loftiness of senti¬ 
ment, was not aware that the stars he contemplated 
were in reality suns. He anticipated these times, 
and first sang the majestic hymn, which future and 
more enlightened ages were to chant forth in praise 
to the great Creator. 

The assemblage of these vast bodies is divided in¬ 
to different systems, the number of which probably 
surpasses the grains of sand which the sea casts cm 
its shores. 


Brief View of the Univeme* 285 

Each system has for its centre a star, or sun, which 
shines by its native inherent light, and round which 
several orders of opaque globes revolve, reflecting, 
with more or less brilliancy, the light they borrow 
from it, and which renders them visible. 

What an august, what an amazing conception does 
this give of the works of the Creator ! thousands of 
thousands of suns, multiplied without end, and rang¬ 
ed all around us, at immense distances from each 
other, attended by ten thousand times ten thousand 
worlds, all in rapid motion, yet calm, regular, and 
harmonious, invariably keeping the paths prescribed 
them ; and these worlds, doubtless, peopled with 
myriads of beings, formed for an endless progression 
in perfection and felicity ! 

From what we know of our own system, it may 
be reasonably concluded, that all the rest are with 
equal wisdom contrived, situated, and provided with 
accommodations for rational inhabitants. Let us, 
therefore, take a survey of the system to which we 
belong, the only one accessible to us; and from 
thence we shall be the better enabled to judge of the 
nature and end of the other systems of the universe. 

Those globes which we perceive as wandering 
among the heavenly host, are the planets ; the pri¬ 
mary or principal ones, have the sun for the com¬ 
mon centre of their periodical revolution; while the 
others, which are called secondaries, or moons, move 
round their primaries, accompanying them as satel¬ 
lites in their annual revolution. 

The Earth has one satellite, Jupiter four, Saturn 
seven, and the Georgium Sidus, or Herschel, two; 
Saturn has besides, a luminous and beautiful ring. 

We know that our solar systenr. consists of twenty- 
flve planetary bodies ; we are not certain but there 
may be more. Their number has been considerably 
^augmented since the invention of telescopes; more 
perfect instruments, and more accurate observers 
VOL. II. c c 


286 Brief View of the Universe. 

may further increase their number: the discovery of 
the Georgium Sidus, or Herschel, may be looked up¬ 
on as a happy presage of future success. 

Modern astronomy has not only enriched our hea¬ 
vens with new planets, but it has also enlarged the 
boundaries of the solar system. The comets, which 
from their fallacious appearance, their tail, their beard, 
the diversity of their directions, their sudden appear¬ 
ance,and disappearance have been considered as mete¬ 
ors, lighted up in the air by an irritated power, are 
found to be a species of planetary bodies, whose long 
routes are now calculated by astronomers : they also 
foretell their distant return, determine their place, and 
account for their irregularities. Many of these bodies at 
present acknowledge the empire of our sun, though the 
orbits they trace round him are so extensive, that many 
ages are neccssaiy for the completion of a revolution. 

In a word, it is from modern astronomy that we 
learn that the stars are innumerable, and that the con¬ 
stellations, in which the ancients reckoned but a few, 
are now known to contain thousands. The heavens 
of Thales and Hipparchus were very poor, when 
compared to those of latter astronomers, of Tycho 
Brahe, Flamstead, de la Caille, and Herschel. The 
diameter of the great orbit which our earth describes, 
is more than 180 millions of miles ; yet this vast ex¬ 
tent vanishes into nothing, and becomes a mere point, 
when the astronomer wishes to use it as a measure to 
ascertain the distance of the fixed stars. 

How great then is the real bulk of these luminaries, 
which are perceptible by us at such an enormous dis¬ 
tance ! The sun is about 1,;592,500 times greater than 
the earth, and 539 times great than all the planets ta¬ 
ken together. If the stars are suns, as we have every 
reason to suppose, they must be either equal to, or 
exceed it in size. 

Proud and ignorant mortal! lift up now thine eyes 
to heaven, and answer me, if one of those luminaries 




\ Brief View of the Uhiverse. 287 

which adorn the starry heaven should be taken away, 
would thy nights become darker ? Say not, then, that 
the stars are made for thee ,* that it is for thee that 
the firmament glitters with effulgent brightness : fee* 
ble mortal! thou wert not the sole object of the libe¬ 
ral bounties of the Creator, when he appointed Si¬ 
rius, and encompassed it with worlds. 

Whilst the planets perform their periodical revolu¬ 
tions round the sun, by which the course of their 
year is regulated, they turn round their axes, a mo¬ 
tion by which they obtain the alternate succession of 
day and night. 

But, by what means are these vast bodies suspend¬ 
ed in the immensity of space ? What secret power re¬ 
tains them in their orbits, and enables them to circu¬ 
late with so much regularity and harmony ? Gravity, 
or attraction, is the powerful agent, the universal 
principle of this equilibrium, and of these motions. 
It penetrates intimately all bodies. By this power 
they tend towards each other in a proportion relative 
to their bulk. Thus the planets tend towards the 
centre of the system, into which they would soon 
I have been precipitated, if the Creator, when he form- 
I ed them, had not impressed upon them a projectile, 
or centrifugal force, which continually keeps them at 
a proper distance from the centre. 

The planets, by obeying at the same instant each of 
these motions, are made to describe a curve. This 
curve is an oval of different eccentricities, according 
to the combination of the active powers, 
j Thus the same force, which determines the fall of 
* a stone, is the ruling principle of the heavenly mo* 

1 tions. Wonderful mechanism ? whose simplicity and 
energy gives us unceasing tokens of the profound 
(i wisdom of its Author. 

Our earth or globe, which seems so vast in the 

I I eyes of the emmets who inhabit it, and whose diamc - 
i ter is above 7,970 miles, is yet nearly a thousand 



288 Brief View of the Universe* 

times smaller than Jupiter, who appears to the na¬ 
ked eye as little more than a shining atom. 

A rare transparent and elastic substance surrounds 
the earth to a certain height. This substance is the 
air or atmosphere, the habitation of the winds, an 
immense reservoir of vapours, which, when condens¬ 
ed into clouds, either embellish our sky by the va¬ 
riety of their figures, and the richness of their colour¬ 
ing, or astonish us by the rolling thunder or flashes 
of lightning that escape from them ; sometimes they 
melt away, at others are condensed into rain or hail, 
supplying the deficiences of the earth with the super¬ 
fluity of heaven. 

The moon, the nearest of all the planets to the 
earth, is likewise that of which we have the most 
knowledge. Its globe always presents to us the same 
face, because it turns round upon its axis precisely in 
the same space of time that it revolves round the earth. 

It has phases, or gradual and periodical increase 
and decrease of light, according to its position in re¬ 
spect to the sun, which enlightens it, and the earth, on 
which it reflects the light that it has received. 

The face of the moon is divided into luminous and 
obscure parts. The former seems analagous to land, 
and the latter to resemble our seas. 

In the luminous spots there have been observed 
some parts which are brighter than the rest ; these 
project a shadow, whose length has been measured, 
and their track ascertained. These parts are moun¬ 
tains, much higher than ours, in proportion to the 
size of the moon, whose tops may be seen gilded by 
the rays, of the sun, at the quadratures of the moon, 
and the light gradually descending to their feet, till 
they appear entirely bright. Some of these moun¬ 
tains stand by themselves, while in other places there 
are long chains of them. 

Venus has, like the moon, her phases, spots, and 
mountains. The telescope discovers to us, also spots, 


Brief View of the Universe* 28$ 

in Mars and Jupiter: those in Jupiter form belts; 
considerable changes have been seen among these, as 
if of the ocean’s overflowing the land, and again 
leaving it dry by its retreat. 

Mercury, Saturn, and the Georgium Sidus, are 
comparatively, but little known ; the first, because he 
is too near the sun ; the two last, because they are so 
remote from it. 

Lastly, the sun himself has spots, which seem to 
move with regularity, and whose size equals, and 
very often exceeds our globe itself. 

Every thing in the universe is systematical, all is 
combination, affinity, and connexion. 

From the relations which exist between all parts of 
the world, and by which they conspire to one gene- 
ral end, results the harmony of the world. 

The relations which unite all the worlds to one an¬ 
other constitute the harmony of the universe. 

The beauty of the world is founded in the harmoni¬ 
ous diversity of the beings that compose it, in the num¬ 
ber, the extent, and the quality of their effects, and in 
the sum of happiness which it is capable of affording. 

Table of the Periods^ Distances^ Sizes, and Motions 
of the Orbs composing the Solar System. 


Sun and 
Planets. 

1 Annual Period 
round the Sun. 

Diur. rot. on 
its axis. 

Dia. in 1 Dist.fr. Sun,! Hourly 
miles. ;in E* miles, i motion 

1 Square miles in 
Surface. 


SUN 
Mercury 
Venus 
t Earth 

I Moon 
Mars 

I Jupiter 
Saturn 
Geo.Sidus 


87 d. 23 h. 
224 d. 17 h. 
365 d. 6 h. 
365 d. 6 h. 
686 d. 23 h. 
4332 d. 12 h. 
10759 d. 7 h. 
348405 d. 1 h. 


25 d. 6h. 
Unknown. 
24 d. 8h. 
Id. Oh. 
20 d. 12h.3q. 
24 h. 40 m. 
9 h. 50 m. 
Unknown. 
Unknown. 


820,000 
3,100 
9,360 
7,970 
2,180 
5,150 
94,100! 
77,950 
35,1091 


37.000,000 

69,000,000 

95,000,00o 

95,000,000 

145,000,000 

495,000,000 

908,000,000 

1800,000,000 


95,000 
69,000 
58,000 
2,200 
47,0001 
25,000' 
18,000 
37,000 


1,828,911,000,000 
21,236,800 
691.S6 ,300 
199,859,860 
14,898,750 
62,058,240 
20,603,970,000 
14,102,562,000 
8,800,000.000 


Besides these, two planetary bodies have lately been 
discovered, one by M. Piazza, called the Ceres, and 
the other by Dr. Olbers, called the Pallas ; the former 
is 95 miles in diameter, and the latter about 162 miles, 
c c 2 

















( 290 ) 

PKOBLEMS ON THE GLOBE. 

THE sciences of geography and astronomy are so 
intimately connected, that it is in vain to expect to 
acquire a complete knowledge of the one without un¬ 
derstanding someting of the other. Perhaps the best 
and most ready method of giving a learner just and 
accurate notions of these sciences, in which, accord¬ 
ing to Dr. Watts, “ there is not a sun or daughter of 
Adam that has not some concern,” is by the help of 
globes ; since by them the earth and heavens are rep¬ 
resented in a natural and striking manner, and by 
the various motions and positions of which they are 
capable, the youngest student is enabled to compre¬ 
hend the several real and apparent motions of the 
heavenly bodies, which, to persons unacquainted with 
these subjects, either pass unnoticed, or are involved 
in inexplicable difficulties.* 

OF THE TERRESTRIAL GLOBE. 

The terrestrial globe is a representation of the 
earth, having the seas and different countries depict¬ 
ed on it, exactly as they are on the surface of the 
earth. 

The spindle on which the globe turns is called its 
axis. 

N. B. The axis of the earth, as well as all the 
arches are only imaginary. 

The extreme points of the axis are called the poles, 

* I think it proper to recommend the improved globes of eighteen 
and twelve inches in diameter, lately engraved and sold under the ti¬ 
tle of Bardinas New British Globes. On the terrestrial eighteen inch 
are included all the late discoveries of Captain Cooke, Vancouver, 
Perouse, Mungo Parke, &c. to the present time, from a complete and 
accurate drawing by Mr. Arrowsmith : and on the corresponding ce¬ 
lestial are depicted the exact positions of more than six thousand 
stars, clusters, nebulae, &c. &c. 


Of the Terrestrial Globe* 291 

the one is the north, or arctic, the other the south, or 
antarctic. 

Ancient and modern geographers agree in divid¬ 
ing the earth into Five Zones, namely, one torrid, 
two temperate, and two froaen zones. 

The torrid zone extends from the equator to the 
tropic of Cancer northward, and to the tropic of 
Capricorn southward, extending 23^ degrees on each 
side of the equator, making in the whole 47 degrees. 

The two temperate zones lie between the tropics 
and polar circles, on each side of the equator, being 
43 degrees each : and 

The two frigid embrace the regions from the po¬ 
lar circles to the poles, extending in each direction 
23k degrees. 

The earth is supposed to be surrounded with several 
imaginary circles, which are actually drawn on the 
artificial globe, or expressed by wooden or brass work. 

The equator is a supposed circle of the earth, equi¬ 
distant from the poles, and it divides the globe into 
two equal hemispheres, one north, and the other 
south. 

Meridians are imaginary great circles passing from 
pole to pole, or over head from north to south. 

The ecliptic is a great circle in the heavens, in 
which the sun, or rather the earth, performs its annu¬ 
al revolution. 

On the ecliptic the twelve signs are marked, viz* 
T Aries, the Ram ; ^ Taurus, the Bull ; n Gemi¬ 
ni, the Twins; Eo Cancer, the Crab; SI Leo, the 
Lion 5 TTJZ Virgo, the Virgin; Libra, the Ballance; 
HI Scorpio, the Scorpion ; / Sagittarius, the Arch¬ 
er ; ys Capricornus, the Goat; Aquarius, the 
Waterer; ^ Pisces, the Fishes. 

These signs refer to stars, among which the sun 
seems to pass; and the signs, as well as the ecliptic 
itself, are drawn on the terrestrial globe only for the 
convenience of working some problems. 


292 Of the Terrestrial Globe, 

The tropics are two circles, each parallel to, and at 
26i degrees distance form, the equator. 

The polar circles are paralell to the tropics, and 
23il distance from the pole. 

The horizon is expressed by the upper surface of 
the wooden circle in which the globe stands, and it 
divides the globe into two equal parts. 

The zenith of any place is a point in the heavens 
directly over head or above that place, and the nadir^ 
is a point opposite to the zenith. 

The wooden horizon of the globe is divided into 
three parts; the innermost is marked with all the 
points on the marinei’s compass; the next has the 
names, characters, and figures of the twelve signs; 
and the third is a calendar of months and days. By 
the two last is instantly seen the sign and degree the 
sun is in during every day in the year. 

The circumference of the earth and heavens is 360 
degrees, and every degree is divided into sixty mi¬ 
nutes. Half the circumference is 180 degrees, and a 
quarter is 90 degrees. 

The Latitude of any place is its distance from 
the equator towards either pole, reckoned in degrees 
and minutes, and may be 90 degrees north or south. 

The Longitude of any place is its distance from 
the merdian of London, reckoned in degrees and mi¬ 
nutes at the equator, and it may be 180 degrees east 
or west. 

Problem. I. — To find the Latitude of any place. 

Turn the globe, and bring the place to the engraven 
edge of the brazen meridian ; and the degree on the 
meridian is the latitude north or south, as it may be 
on the north or south side of the equator. 

Thus the latitude of London is 51i north; and of 
St. Helena nearly 16 degrees south. 

What is the latitude of Alexandria in Egypt ?—*0f 



Of the Terrestrial Globe* 293 

Athens ?—Of Bengal ?—Of the Cape of Good Hope. 
—Of Cape Horn —Of Constantinople ?—of Edin ¬ 
burgh —Of Ispahan ?—Of Madrass \—Of Moscow \ 
—Ol Paris ?—Of Philadelphia ?—Of Prague ?—Of 
Stockholm ?—Of Teneriffe f —Of Vienna -And of 
Botany Bay ? 

Problem II.— To fnd the longitude of any place* 

Bring the place to the brazen meridian, and the de¬ 
gree on the equator shews the longitude from London. 

Thus the longitude of Madras is 80 degrees east: 
©f Lisbon, 9 degrees west. 

What is the longitude of Amsterdam ?—Of Arch¬ 
angel ?—Of Babelmandel ?—Of Bengal f—Of Dub¬ 
lin t —Of Gibralter ?—Of Jerusalem ?—Of Quebec ? 
—Of Syracuse ?—Of Tunis !—Of Turin ?—Of Up- 
sal ? 

Problem III —The longitude and latitude of any 
place being given ^ to fnd that place. 

Look for the longitude on the equator, and bring 
it to the brazen meridian, then under the given de¬ 
gree of latitude will be the place required. Thus 
the place whose longitude is 30° 17'east, and lati¬ 
tude 31° 11' north, is Alexandria : and the place 
which has near 6° west longitude, and 16° north lati¬ 
tude, is St. Helena. What places are those that have 
the following longitudes and latitudes: 30° 17' east 
long, and 31° 11' north lat. —— ■ 113° 2' east long, and 

23° 8' north lat.-79° 50' west long, and 33° 22' 

north lat.-8° 30' west, and 51° 54' north lat. ” 

4° 5' west, and 56° (nearly) north lat.-76° 50' 

west long, and 12° south lat.—8° 35' west long, 
and 40° 53' north lat. f What place is that whose lon¬ 
gitude is nearly 78° west, but which has no latitude 


294 


Of the Terrestrial Globe, 


Problem IV. — To find the difference of latitude of 
any two places. 

If the places are in the same hemisphere, bring 
each to the meridian, and subtract the latitude of the 
one from that of the other; if in different hemis¬ 
pheres, add the latitude of the one to that of the 
other. Thus the difference of latitude between Lon¬ 
don and Madras is 38® 28': between Paris and Cape 
Horn is 104-® 49'. What is the difference of latitude 
between Copenhagen and Gibraltar ^ between Lon¬ 
don and the Cape of Good Hope ? between Berlin 
and Bristol t between Bengal and St. Helena ? be¬ 
tween Madrid and Moscow ? between Leghorn and 
Liverpool ? between Pekin and Philadelphia ? How 
many degrees colder is Petersburg than Naples ? 

Problem V. — To find the difference of Longitude of 
any two places. 

Bring one of the places to the brazen meridian, 
and mark its longitude ; then bring the other place 
to the meridian, and the number of degrees between 
its longitude, and the first mark is the difference of 
longitude; thus the difference of longitude between 
London and Constantinople is 28® 53': between 
Constantinople and Madras is 51® 54'. 

What is the difference of longitude between, Athens 
and Batavia ?—between Brest and Cape Horn ?—be¬ 
tween Charleston in America and Cork in Ireland ? 
between Rome and Cape Finisterre ?—between Can¬ 
ton and the most northerly point of the Orkney Isl¬ 
ands ?—between Morocco and Tibet ?—---between 
Cape Bojador in Africa and Port Jackson, New Hol¬ 
land ?—between the most northerly point of Mada¬ 
gascar and Otaheite ?—between Mecca and Calcutta ? 



OJ the Terrestrial Globe. 


285 


Problem VI.— To Jind the distance of any two pla¬ 
ces on the Globe, 

Lay the graduated edge of the quadrant of aiti' 
tude over both places, and the degrees between them, 
multiplied by 69i|, will give the distance in English 
miles. Thus, the distance between the Lizard Point 
and the Island of Bermudas, is 46°, or 3147 miles ; 
between London and Jamaica, is 4691 miles. 

What is the distance between Sarmacand, in Tar¬ 
tary, and Pekin ? between Warsaw and Ascension 
Island ?—between North Cape and Gibraltar ?—be¬ 
tween Lisbon and Ispahan ?—between Rio Janeiro 
and the Cape of Good Hope ?—between Madrid and 
Cairo \—Between Boston and Cayenne t 

Problem VII.— The hour at any place being given,, 
to find what hour it is at any other place, ^ 

Bring the place, where the hour is given, to the 
brazen meridian, and set the index of the hour'cir¬ 
cle to that hour, then turn the globe till the proposed 


* When the distance or difference of longitude between two pla¬ 
ces is known, it is easy to ascertain their difference of time by calcu¬ 
lation. It is noon, or twelve o’clock, when any place on the globe is 
exactly towards the Sun, and the succession of day and night, of 
morning, noon, and evening, may be beautifully shewn by turning 
the Terrestrial Globe in the sunshine, or in the light of a fire or can¬ 
dle. But to ascertain exactly the number of hours and minutes, in 
which at the same moment of time, two places differ, it is necessary 
to divide the difference of longitude by 15, because every 15 degrees 
is equal to one hour of time; and consequently, also, every degree is 
equal to four minutes of time. For example, when it is noon at Lon¬ 
don, it will be five o’clock in the afternoon at all places which have 
sixty degrees of longitude east of London, and seven in the morning 
to all places which are sixty degrees west of London. At all places, 
which have 180 degrees difference of longitude, it will be twelve 
o’clock, at night, when it is noon, at London. And, in this manner, 
the hour in any part of the world may be calculated, by adding to 
the given hour when the place is east, and by subtracting when it is 
west. 


296 Of the Terrestrial Globe, 

place come under the meridian, and the index will 

point to the present hour at that place. 

Thus, when it is twelve o’clock at noon in London, 
it is nearly four in the afternoon at the island of Mau¬ 
ritius : but at Jamaica it is only about seven in the 
morning. 

When it is ten iu the forenoon at London, what is 
the time at Calcutta, Canton, Pelew Islands, Barba- 
does, the western side of lake Superior, Owhyhee, 
and Easter Island ? 

What o’clock is it at York, Moscow, Cape Horn, 
Genoa, Syracuse, and Leghorn, when it is midnight at 
Lisbon ? 

How much are the clocks of Barbadoes behind ours? 

When it is twelve at noon at Port Jackson, what 
time is it at Paris and Dublin ? 

Problem VIII .—To rectify the Globe for the Lati¬ 
tude^ Zenith^ and Sun^s Place, 

1. For the Latitude: Elevate the pole above the 
horizon, according to the latitude of the place. 

2. For the Zenith; Screw the quadrant of alti¬ 
tude on the meridian at the given degree of latitude, 
counting from the equator towards the elevated pole. 

3. For the Sun’s place : Find the Sun’s place on 
the horizon, and then bring the same place found on 
the ecliptic to the meridian, and set the hour index to 
twelve at noon. 

Thus, to rectify for the latitude of London on the 
10th day of May, the globe must be so placed, that 
the north pole shall be 51i degrees above the north 
side of the horizon, 51^ will be found on the zenith 
of the meridian, on which the quadrant must be 
screwed. On the horizon the 10th of May answers 
to the 20th of Taurus, which find on the ecliptic, and 
bring it to the meridian, and set the index to twelve. 

Rectify the globe for London, Petersburg, Madras, 
Pekin, Oporto, Venice, Quebec, Port Mahon; Vien- 


Of the Terrestrial Globe, 297 

na, Dantzic, and Corinth for the 24th of February, 
2/th of June, and the 6th of August. 

Problem IX.— To find at what hour the Sun rises 

and sets any day in the year^ and also upon what 

point of the Compass. 

Rectify for the latitude and sun’s place, (Problem 
VIII.) and turn the sun’s place to the eastern edge of 
the horizon, and the index will point to the hour of 
rising : then bring it to the western edge of the ho¬ 
rizon, the index will shew the setting. 

Thus on the 16th of March the sun rises a little af¬ 
ter six, and sets a little before six in the evening. 

What time does the sun rise and set at Petersburg, 
Xaples, Canton, Dublin, Gibraltar, Teneriffe, and Vi¬ 
enna, on the 15th of April, the 4th of July, and the 
20th of November f 

Note. On the 21st of March the sun rises due 
east, and sets due west; between this and the 21st of 
September, it rises and sets to the northward of these 
points, and in the winter months to the southward of 
them. When the sun’s place is brought to the east¬ 
ern or western edge of the horizon, it marks the point 
of the compass upon which it rises or sets that day. 

Problem X— To find the Length of the Day and 
Night at any time in the year. 

Double the time of the sun’s rising, which gives 
the length of the night: double the time of his 
setting, which gives the length of the day. 

Thus, on the 25th of May, the sun rises at London 
about four o’clock, and sets at eight. The length of 
the night is twice four, or eight hours; the lengh of 
the day is twice eight, or sixteen hours. 

What is the length of the day and the night on the 
22d of April, at London, Madrid, Batavia, St. Hele¬ 
na, Mexico, New York, and Canton ? 

VOL. ij. D d 


298 Of the Terrestrial Globe, 

Def, The declination of the sun is its distance ffom 
the equator north or south. 

Problem. XL— TAe da^ of the Month beinggiven^ 
to find the Sun^s declination^ and all those places 
where the Sun will he vertical at noon that day. 

Find the sun’s place on the ecliptic, and bring it to 
the naeridian, and the degree which stands over it is 
the sun’s declination. Then turn the globe from west 
to east, and to all the places that pass under that de¬ 
gree will the sun be vertical that day. 

Thus, on the 27th of October, the sun’s declina¬ 
tion will be 13® 18' south, and will be vertical at St. 
Salvadore, in South America, &c. &c. on that day. 
On the 10th of May, the sun is vertical to the Salt- 
Mines in Africa, Ageeg, in the Red-Sea, Fort Vic¬ 
toria, Hindostan, Sinho, Cochin China, the Island of 
Owyhee, and Portico Rico. 

What is the sun’s declination, and to what places 
will he be vertical on the 10th of February, the 12th 
of March, the 9th of April, the 15th of August the 
21st of September, and the 6th of November? 

When will the sun pass vertically over Surinam ? 
The most easterly part of the Bay of Honduras ?— 
The islands of St. Helena, Ascension, Mauritus, and 
Guam ? When shall we condole with our friends at 
Borneo, on account of their suffering vertical heat ? 

Note. Wherever the sun is vertical, the rains are 
almost continual, which produce the swell of the Nile, 
and other large rivers. 

When does the rainy season commence at Barba- 
does, Trinidad, and Madrass ? 

When will the Nile begin to swell ? 

What two days in the years will a person at St. 
Kitt’s have no shadow ? 


Of the Terrestrial Globe, 


299 


Problem XII*— At a given place and hour^ to find 
where the Sun is then Vertical, 

Bring the sun*s place, found in the ecliptic for that 
day, to the meridian, which shews his declination : 
elevate the pole to that declination; then bring the 
given place to the meridian, and set the index to 
twelve o’clock at noon. Turn the globe till the in¬ 
dex points to the given hour; and the place exactly 
under the sun’s declination on the brazen meridian 
will have the sun vertical at the given time. 

Thus it will be found that the sun is vertical at 
Port Royal, in Jamacia, when it is at a few minutes 
past five in the afternoon, on the 11th of May, in 
London. 

On the 24th of April, when it is six in the morn¬ 
ing at London, the sun will be vertical at Madras. 

Where is the sun vertical on the 24th of June, the 
11th of July, the 16th of August, and the 10th of 
November, when it is seven in the morning and 
twelve at night in London. 

Problem XIII.— The day and hour being given^ to 
find all those places of the Earth where the sun is 
then rising and settings where it is noon^ mid- 
nightf £jfc. 

Find, by the last problem, the place to which the 
sun is vertical at the given hour, and bring the same 
to the meridian, and rectify the globe to a latitude 
equal to the sun’s declination. Then, to all the places 
just under the western side of the horizon, the sun 
is rising ; to those just above the eastern horizon, 
the sun is about to set; to all those under the upper 
half of the brazen meridian it is noon^ and to all those 
under the lower half, it is midnight. 



300 


Of the Celestial Globe. 


Problem XIV.— To fnd all the places to U'hich a 
Lunar Eclipse is visible at any instant. 

Find the place to which the sun is vertical at that 
time, and bring that place to the zenith, and set the 
index to the upper twelve, then turn the globe till the 
index point to the lower twelve, and the eclipse is 
visible to every paft of the earth that is now above 
the horizon. 

OF THE CELESTIAL GLOBE. 

The celestial globe is an artificial representation of 
the heavens, having the fixed stars drawn upon it, in 
their natural order and situation. The eye is suppos¬ 
ed to be placed in the centre. 

As the terrestrial globe, by turning on its axis, re¬ 
presents the real diurnal motion of the earth ; so the 
celestial globe, by turning on its own axis, represents 
the apparent motion of the heavens. 

The zodiac is an imaginary belt round the heavens, 
of about sixteen degrees broad; through the middle 
of which runs the ecliptic, or the apparent path of the 
sun. 

The twelve signs of the zodiac which belong to the 
celestial globe have been already enumerated. 

The nominal points of Aries and Libra are called 
the equinoctial points, because, when the sun appears 
to be in cither of them, the day and night are equal. 

The nominal points of Cancer and Capricorn are 
called solstitial points, because when the sun arrives 
at either of them, he seems to stand still, or to be at 
the same height in the heavens, at twelve o’clock at 
noon, for several days together. 

Definition. The latitude of the heavenly bodies is 
measured from the ecliptic north and south. The 
sun, being always in the ecliptic, has no lattitude. 


Of the Celestial Globe, 301 

Def. The longitude of the heavenly bodies is rec¬ 
koned on the ecliptic, from the first point of Aries 
eastward round the globe. The longitude of the 
sun is what is called, on the terrestrial globe, the 
sun’s place. 

Problem I .—To find the Latitude and Longitude of 
any given star.^ 

Put the centre of the quadrant on the pole of the 
ecliptic, and its graduated edge on the given star; then 
the arch of the quadrant, intercepted betwixt the star 
and the ecliptic, shews its latitude; and the degree 
which the edge of the quadrant cuts on the ecliptic is 
the degree of its longitude. 

Thus the latitude of Regulus is O® 28' n. and its 
longitude nearly, 147®. The latitude of Arcturus is 
31® n. nearly, its long, is about 201®. 

What are the latitudes and longitudes of Cor. Ca- 
rola ? Of Aldsebaran ? Of /3 Perseus ? Of Canis Mi¬ 
nor ? Of Canis Major ? Of Capella ? and of the bright 
star in Corona Borealis ? 

Problem II .—To find any place in the heavens,^ by 
having its latitude and longitude given. 

Fix the quadrant, as in the last problem ; let it cut 
the longitude given on the ecliptic ; then seek the lati¬ 
tude on the quadrant, and the place under it is the 
place sought. Thus, if I am asked what part of the 
heavens that is whose longitude is 66® 30' and latitude 
5° 30' south, I find it is that space which Aldsebaran 
occupies, 

What star is that, whose longitude is 85®, and' 
whose latitude is 16® south 

What star is that, whose longitude is 200® 30' and 
whose latitude is 2® south i 

* The latitudes and longitudes of the planets and moon are given 
*n White’s Ephemeris, the Nautical Almanack, &c. 

D d 2 


302 Of the Celestial Globe* 

If a comet appear in that part of the heavens, whose 
longitude is 125° and the latitude 64°, to what con¬ 
stellation must 1 look for it ? 

Def The declination of any heavenly body is 
measured upon the meridian from the equinoctial. 

Problem III— To find the declination of the Sun 
or Stars* 

Bring the sun or star to the brazen meridian, and 
then as far as it is in degrees from the equinoctial is 
its declination. Thus the sun’s declination, April 
19, is 11° 19' north. On the 1st of December it is 
21° 54' south. 

What is the declination of the sun on the 10th of 
February; the 15th of May; the 11th of August; 
the 21st of September; 10th of November; and the 
21st of December ? 

What is the declination of ^ Draco; of the Pole 
star; of Algol in Medusa’s head ? of the star in the 
Bull’s north horn ; of 0 Lyra : and of 2 in the Dra¬ 
gon’s head ? 

Def. The right ascension of any heavenly body is 
its distance from the first meridian, or that which 
passes through the first point of Aries, counted on the 
equinoctial. 

Problem IV.— To find the right ascension of the 
Sun or any Star* 

Bring the sun’s place or star to the brazen meridi¬ 
an, and the number of degrees on the equator between 
the brass meridian and the point Aries is the right 
ascension. Thus the sun’s right ascension on April 
19, is 27° 30'; on the 1st of December, 247° 50'. 

What is the sun’s right ascension on the 15th of 
January ; the 18th of March ; the 24th of May ■ 
16th of September ; and the 19th of December ? 





A 



Varallcls of Latitude 
and Longitude are - 
drawiv . 
















Directions for Drawing Maps, 303 
What is the right ascension of the star /5 in Auri¬ 
ga’s shoulder; of Dubhe in the back of the Great 
Bear ; of the Bull’s eye ; of RigeL in Orion’s foot ; 
and of /3 in the northern scale ? 

Problem V.— The latitude of the place^ the day and 
hour being given ^ to represent the face of the heavens 
at that time by the celestial Globe^ so as to fnd and 
point out all the constellations and principal stars 
there visible. 

Elevate the pole so many degrees above the horizon 
as are equal to the latitude of the place, and set the 
globe due north and south ; Find the sun’s place in 
the ecliptic, bring it to the brazen meridian, and set 
the index to 12 at noon ; turn the globe westward 
till the index points to the given hour; then the sur¬ 
face of the globe represents the exact face of the 
heavens at the given place. 

The learner will now represent the face of the 
heavens for six and ten o’clock in the evening of the 
5th of November ; for nine and twelve at night of 
the 10th of May; and the 16th of October. 


PLAIN DIRECTIONS FOR PROJECTING 
AND DRAWING MAPS. 

The essential qualifications of good maps are : 

1st. That they represent the countries, as nearly 
as possible, of the same shape, and in the same pro¬ 
portions, as they really have on the earth itself; 

2d. That the divisions of one country from anoth¬ 
er be distinctly marked, and readily perceptible ; 

3d. That the longitudes and latitudes of different 
places be found exactly on the map with little or no 
trouble. 

It may be proper to state, that the very best maps 
of all countries are those by Arrowsmith, 


304 Directions for Drawing Maps. 

Problem. —To project or draw a Map of the Earth; 
or^ to draw the circles of latitude and longitude of 
the Globe on a Map or plain surface. 

1st. To draw the circles of latitude. 

Draw a circle N Q S E of any convenient magni¬ 
tude, representing one half of the earth’s surface ;— 
draw the diameter N S and E Q intersecting each 
other at right angles, E Q will represent the equator, 
N S the axis. Divide the equator into 360 parts, 10, 
20, 30, &c. or, if the circle be large enough, into 
smaller parts, and draw a line from E to 110, bisect 
it, and from the point of bisection raise a perpendic¬ 
ular, produce it till it cut N S, extended, in x: the 
point .r will be the centre from which the circle z, 
110, is to be described, which is the true representa¬ 
tion of the parallel of 20 degrees south. In the same 
manner, draw the parcllels of latitude z, a, 140, and all 
the others for every degree in the southern hemisphere. 

To obtain those in the northern hemisphere, set off 
on the line N S, produced in an opposite direction 
the distances S x, he. which give the centres on 
which the circles of latitude are to be described for 
"very degree in that hemisphere. 

2dly. To draw the circles of longitude. 

By lines drawn from S to 10, 20, 30, &c. the radi¬ 
us C Q will be cut in the points, 10, 20, 30, &c. then 
the points 20, 40, 60 and 80, will be centres on which 
the circles of longitude S ^ N are to be drawn : for 
the remaining circles produce the diameter E Q, and 
from N, through every tenth degree in the quadrant 
N Q, draw lines cutting that diameter produced, and 
the points of intersection will give the centres for the 
remaining circles of longitude : it must, however, be 
carefully remembered, that each centre is 20 degrees 
distant from the preceding one. 

For the circles of longitude in the other hemis¬ 
phere, the centres may be found by setting off the 


Directions for Drawing Maps. 305 

proper distances on the diameter E Q, produced the 
contrary way. 

Bow rules, which will be necessary for drawing 
even small maps, and which ought to make part of 
every school apparatus, may be had of all mathe¬ 
matical instrument makers, at all prices, from 2s. 6d. 
to 12s. and beam compasses for dividing large cir¬ 
cles, projections, &c. are to be had at any price, from 
one guinea to ten. 

The construction of maps of particular parts of the 
earth requires a different operation. Large portions 
of its surface may, indeed, be drawn on the plane of 
the meridian : but when a small part, as the island of 
Great Britain, for instance, is to be represented on a 
large scale, it would be found difficult to draw the arch¬ 
es of such large circles as are necessary ; and, there¬ 
fore, supposing our young readers not furnished with 
instruments large enough for the purpose, the follow¬ 
ing method may be adopted. 

In this case, the degrees of longitude and latitude 
may be represented by straight lines. It is, however, 
to be remembered, that though the degrees of lati¬ 
tude always continue of an equal length, it is not so 
with those of longitude. They must necessarily de¬ 
crease as we approach the pole. The proportion in 
which they decrease mav be found by the following 
table. 


S 06 Directions for Drawing Maps. 

FABLE^ shewing the Number of Miles contained in 
a Degree of Longitude^ in each Farallel of Lati- 
tudcy from the Equator to the Poles, 


Degrees of I 
Latitude. 

Miles. 

100th parts 
of a mile. 


Degrees of 
Latitude. 

Miles. 

100th parts 

of a mile. 


Degrees of 

Latitude. 

Miles. 

100th parts 

of a mile. 

1 

59 

96 


31 

51 

43 


61 

29 

04 

2 

59 

94 


32 

50 

88 


62 

28 

17 

3 

59 

92 


33 

50 

32 


63 

27 

24 

4 

59 

86 


34 

49 

74 


64 

26 

30 

5 

59 

77 


35 

49 

15 


65 

25 

36 

6 

59 

67 


36 

48 

54 


66 

24 

41 

7 

59 

56 


37 

47 

92 


67 

23 

45 

8 

59 

40 


38 

47 

28 


68 

22 

48 

9 

59 

2C 


39 

46 

62 


69 

21 

51 

10 

59 

0^ 


40 

46 

00 


70 

20 

52 

11 

58 

89 


41 

45 

28 


71 

19 

54 

12 

58 

68 


42 

44 

95 


72 

18 

55 

13 

58 

46 


43 

43 

88 


73 

17 

54 

14 

58 

22 


' 44 

43 

16 


74 

16 

53 

15 

58 

00 


45 

42 

43 


75 

15 

52 

16 

57 

60 


46 

41 

68 


76 

14 

51 

17 

57 

30 


47 

41 

00 


77 

13 

50 

18 

57 

04 


48 

40 

15 


78 

12 

48 

19 

56 

73 


49 

39 

36 


79 

11 

45 

20 

56 

38 


50 

38 

57 


80 

10 

42 

21 

56 

00 


51 

37 

73 


81 

09 

38 

22 

55 

63 


52 

37 

00 


82 

08 

35 

23 

55 

23 


53 

36 

18 


83 

07 

32 

24 

54 

81 


54 

35 

26 


84 

06 

28 

25 

54 

38 


55 

34 

41 


85 

05 

23 

26 

54 

00 


56 

33 

55 


86 

04 

18 

27 

53 

44 


57 

32 

67 


87 

03 

14 

28 

53 

00 


58 

31 

70 


88 

02 

09 

29 

52 

48 

1 

59 

30 1 

90 


89 

01 

05 

30 

51 

96 


60 

30 1 

00 


90 1 

00 

00 
































I 


Ilorizoji 





















Directions for drawing Maps, 30r 

Suppose, then it is required to draw the meridians 
and parallels for a map of Great Britain. This isl¬ 
and lies between 50 and 60 degrees north latitude, 
and between two degrees east and six west longitude. 
Having, therefore, chosen the length of the degrees 
of latitude, the degrees of longitude must be propor¬ 
tioned to it. By the table it appears, that in latitude 
50®, the length of a degree of longitude is to one of 
latitude, as 38 57 is to 60; that is, the length of a 
degree of longitude is something more than half the 
length of a degree of latitude. The exact propor¬ 
tion may be had by a diagonal line : after which 
seven or eight of these degrees are to be marked out 
upon a right line for the length of the intended map. 

[ On the extremities of this line raise two perpendicu- 

I lars, upon which mark out ten degrees of latitude for 
the height of it. Then, having completed the par¬ 
allelogram, consult the table for the length of a de¬ 
gree of longitude, in latitude 60®, which is found to 
be very nearly one half the length of a degree of 
latitude. It will always be necessary, however, to 
draw a vertical meridian exactly in the middle of the 
parallelogram, to which the meridians on each side 
may converge ; and from this you are to set off the 
degrees of longitude on each side : then, having di¬ 
vided the lines bounding the map into as many parts 
as can conveniently be done, to serve for a scale, the 
longitudes and latitudes may by their means be set 
off with much less trouble than where curve lines are 
used. This method may be always followed where 
a particular kingdom is to be delineated, and will re¬ 
present the true figure and situation of the places 
with tolerable exactness. Towns, and other places, 
whose bearings and situations are known, may be ac¬ 
curately expressed by this means, and this is the only 
kind of maps to which a scale of miles can be truly 
adapted. 





TABLE 


OF THE 

LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES 

OF 

fHE PRINCIPAL PLACES ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE. 


.Yames of Places. 

Cont. 

!Sea or 
Country. 

Latitude. 

Abo 

Europe 

Finland 

O 

60 

/ 

27 

t/ 

10 N 

Agra 

Asia 

India 

26 

43 

0 N 

Aleppo 

Asia 

Turkey 

35 

11 

25 N 

Alexandria 

Africa 

Egypt 

31 

11 

28 N 

Algiers 

Africa 

Algiers 

36 

49 

30 N 

Amsterdam 

Europe 

Holland 

52 

21 

56 N 

Antigua, St. John’s 

Amer. 

Carib. Sea 

17 

4 

30 N 

Archangel 

Europe 

Russia 

64 

33 36 N 

Athens 

Europe 

Turkey 

38 

5 

0 N 

Babelmandel Straits 

Africa 

Abyssinia 

12 

50 

0 N 

Bagdad 

Asia 

Mesopota. 

33 

19 

40 N 

Bantry Bay 

Europe 

Ireland 

51 

26 

0 N 

Barbadoes, Bridge T. 

Amer. 

Atl. Ocean 

13 

0 

0 N 

Barcelona 

Europe 

Spain 

41 

23 

0 N 

Batavia 

Asia 

Java 

6 

12 

0 S 

Bath 

Europe 

England 

51 

22 30 N 

Beachey Head 

Europe 

England 

50 

44 

30 N 

Berlin 

Europe 

Germany 

52 

31 

30 N 

Bermudas, isle 

Amer. 

Atl. Ocean 

32 

35 

0 N 

•Blanco, cape 

Amer. 

Patagonia 

47 

29 

0 S 

Bojador, cape 

Africa 

Negroland 

26 

12 

30 N 

Bolschereskoi 

Asia 

Siberia 

52 

54 

30 N 

Boston 

Amer. 

N. England 

42 

22 

11 N 

Botany Bay 

Asia 

N. Holland 

34 

0 

0 S 

Breslaw 

Europe 

Silesia 

51 

3 

0 N 

Brest 

Europe 

France 

48 

22 

42 N 

Brighton Starting-ho. 

Europe 

England 

50 

49 48 N 

Cairo 

Africa 

Egypt 

30 

3 

12 N 

Calais 

Europe 

France 

50 

57 

32 N 

Calcutta 

Asia 

India 

22 

34 

45 N 

Cambridge 

Europe 

England 

52 

12 

35 N 

Candia, isle 

Europe 

Medit. Sea 

35 

18 

35 N 

Canterbury Cathed’l 

Europe 

England 

51 

18 

6 N 

Canton 

Asia 

China 

23 

8 

9 N 


Longitude. 


22 13 30 E 
76 44 0 E 

37 10 0 E 

30 10 22 E 
2 12 45 E 
4 51 30 

62 9 0 

38 59 15 

23 52 30 

43 50 0 

44 24 30 
10 10 0 
59 50 0 

2 13 0 
106 53 46 
2 21 30 
0 19 40 

13 22 0 

63 28 0 

64 42 0 

14 27 0 

156 37 30 

70 59 0 
151 21 0 

17 8 45 

4 29 19 
0 6 28 

31 18 16 
1 51 1 E 

88 29 30 E 
0 4 15 E 
25 18 0 E 
1 4 53 E 
113 2 30 E 























The Latitudes and Longitudes of Places* 309 




Sea or 



Longitude 

J^ames of Places. 

Conf. 

Country. 

Latitude. 

fr. Greenwich. 

Cape Florida 

Amer. 

Florida 

o / 

25 44 

0 N 

0 

80 

/ 

44 

ft 

0 W 

Cape Table 

Asia 

New Zeal. 

39 6 

40 S 

181 

57 

41 

w 

Carthagena 

Amer. 

Ter. Firma 

10 25 

19 N 

75 

42 54 

w 

Cayenne 

Amer. 

Isl.Cayenne 

4 56 

15 N 

52 

15 

0 

w 

Ceylon, S. Point 

Asia 

India 

5 47 

0 N 

81 

2 

0 

E 

Cochin 

Asia 

India 

9 33 

0 N 

75 

35 

0 

E 

Constantinople 

Europe 

Turkey 

41 1 

27 N 

28 

55 

0 

E 

Copenhagen 

Europe 

Denmark 

55 41 

4 N 

12 35 

15 

E 

Cork 

Europe 

Ireland 

51 53 54 N 

8 

28 

15 

W 

Cracow 

Europe 

Poland 

49 59 

20 N 

19 50 

0 

E 

Cyprus 

Asia 

Syria 

34 30 

0 N 

33 

16 

0 

E 

Dantzic 

Europe 

Poland 

54 21 

9 N 

18 

38 

0 

E 

Deal Castle 

Europe 

England 

51 13 

5 N 

1 

23 

59 

E 

Drontheim 

Europe 

Norway 

63 26 

2 N 

10 

22 

0 

E 

Dublin 

Europe 

Ireland 

53 21 

11 N 

6 

6 

30 

W 

Dungeness 

Europe 

England 

50 52 

20 N 

0 

59 

6 

E 

Dunkirk 

Europe 

France 

51 2 

11 N 

2 

22 23 

E 

Easter Island 

Amer. 

Pacific Oc. 

27 6 

30 S 

109 46 

45 

E 

Edinburgh 

Europe 

Scotland 

55 57 

57 N 

3 

12 

15 

W 

Edistone 

Europe 

Eng. Chan. 

50 8 

0 N 

4 24 

0 

W 

Elsinore 

Europe 

Denmark 

56 0 

0 N 

13 35 

0 

E 

Falmouth 

Europe 

England 

50 8 

0 N 

5 

2 

30 

W 

False Bay 

Africa 

Caffres 

34 10 

0 S 

18 

33 

0 

E 

Farewell, cape 

Amer. 

Greenland 

59 38 

0 N 

42 42 

0 W 

Ferro isle, town 

Africa 

Canaries 

27 47 20 N 

17 

45 

50 

W 

Finisterre, cape 

Europe 

Spain 

42 54 

0 N 

9 

17 

10 

W 

Florence 

Europe 

Italy 

43 46 

30 N 

11 

3 

30 

E 

Frankfort, on Maine 

Europe 

Germany 

49 55 

0 N 

8 

35 

0 

E 

Geneva 

Europe 

Savoy 

46 12 

0 N 

6 

0 

0 

E 

Genoa 

Europe 

Italy 

44 25 

0 N 

8 

56 

37 

E 

St. George, fort 

Asia 

India 

13 4 

54 N 

80 

28 

45 

E 

Gibraltar 

Europe 

Spain 

36 6 

30 N 

5 

22 

0 

W 

Glasgow 

Europe 

Scotland 

55 51 

32 N 

4 

15 

0 

W 

Good Hope, cape 

Africa 

Caffres 

34 29 

0 S 

18 

23 

15 

E 

Goree, isle 

Africa 

Atl. Ocean 

14 40 

10 N 

17 

25 

0 

W 

Gottenburg 

Europe 

Sweden 

57 42 

0 N 

11 

38 

45 

E 

Gottengen, Obser. 

Europe 

Germany 

51 31 

54 N 

9 

53 

0 

E 

Gratz 

Europe 

Germany 

47 4 

9 N 

15 

25 

45 

E 

Greenwich, Obser. 

Europe 

England 

51 28 

40 N 

0 

0 

0 


Guadaloupe 

Amer. 

Carib. Sea. 

15 59 

30 N 

61 

48 

15 

W 

Guernsey 

Europe 

Brit. Chan. 

49 30 

0 N 

2 

47 

0 

W 

Hague 

Europe 

Netherl’ds. 

52 4 

10 N 

4 

17 

30 

E 

Hamburgh 

Europe 

Netherl’ds. 

53 33 

3 N 

10 

1 

11 

E 

Hanover 

Europe 

Germany 

52 22 

18 N 

9 

48 

15 

E 

Haerlem 

Europe 

Netherl’ds. 

52 22 

14 N 

4 

37 

0 

E 

Havanna 

Amer. 

Cuba 

23 11 

52 N 

82 

18 

30 

W 

St. Helena 

Africa 

So. Atl. Oc, 

15 55 00 S 

5 

49 

0 w 


VOL. II 


E e 






















310 2'he Latitudes and Longitudes of Places, 




Hea or 





Longitude 

Namts of Place s. 

Coni. 

Country. 

Latitude 


fr.Greenwich. 

Holy Head 

Europe 

Wales 

O 

53 

/ 

23 

0 

N 

0 . 

4 

/ 

40 

tt 

0 

W 

Horn, cape 

Amer. 

Terra del F 

55 

58 

0 

S 

68 

13 

0 

W 

Jamaica, Port-Royal 

Amer. 

Atl. Ocean 

18 

0 

0 

N 

76 

44 

30 

w 

Janeiro, Rio 

Amer. 

Brazil 

22 

54 

10 

S 

42 

43 

45 

w 

Jerusalem 

Asia 

Palestine 

31 

46 

34 

N 

35 

20 

0 

E 

St. Johns 

Amer. 

Antigua 

17 

4 

30 

N 

62 

9 

0 w 

St. Johns 

Amer. 

Nevvfoundl. 

47 

32 

0 

N 

52 

26 

0 

W 

Ispahan 

Asia 

Persia 

35 

25 

0 

N 

52 

53 

0 

E 

Kola 

Europe 

Lapland 

68 

52 

30 

N 

33 

0 

30 

E 

Ladrone, Grand 

Asia 

Pacific Oc. 

22 

2 

0 

N 

113 

56 

0 

E 

Land’s End 

Europe 

England 

50 

4 

7 

N 

5 

41 

31 

W 

Leeds 

Europe 

England 

53 

48 

0 

N 

1 

34 

15 

W 

Leghorn 

Europe 

Italy 

43 

33 

0 

N 

10 

25 

0 

E 

Leyden 

Europe 

Holland 

52 

8 

40 

N 

4 

28 

0 

E 

Lisbon 

Europe 

Portugal 

38 

42 

25 

N 

9 

4 

40 

W 

Liverpool 

Europe 

England 

53 

22 

0 

N 

3 

10 

0 

W 

London, St. Paul’s 

Europe 

England 

51 

31 

0 

N 

0 

5 

37 

W 

Lowestoffe 

Europe 

England 

52 

29 

0 

N 

1 

44 

9 

E 

Lyme 

Europe 

England 

51 

4 

20 

N 

1 

1 

22 

E 

Madeira 

Africa 

Atl. Ocean 

32 

37 

40 

N 

16 

56 

0 

W 

Madras 

Asia 

India 

13 

4 

54 

N 

80 

82 

45 

E 

Madrid 

Europe 

Spain 

40 

25 

18 

N 

3 

21 

0 

W 

Mahon, port 

Europe 

Minorca 

39 

50 

46 

N 

3 

48 

30 

E 

Majorca 

Europe 

Medit. Sea 

39 

35 

0 

N 

2 

29 

45 

E 

Malta 

Africa 

Medit. Sea 

35 

53 

47 

N 

14 

28 

30 

E 

Marseilles 

Europe 

France 

43 

17 

43 

N 

5 

21 

43 

E 

Mecca 

Asia 

Arabia 

21 

40 

0 

N 

41 

0 

0 

E 

Mexico 

Amer. 

Mexico 

19 

25 

50 

S 

100 

5 

45 

W 

Moscow 

Europe 

Muscovy 

55 

45 

45 

N 

37 

32 

45 

E 

Munich 

Europe 

Bavaria 

48 

9 

55 

N 

11 

30 

0 

E 

Muswell Hill 

Eurape 

England 

51 

35 

32 

N 

0 

7 

20 W 

N ankiu 

Asia 

China 

32 

4 

40 

S 

118 

47 

0 

E 

Naples 

Europe 

Italy 

40 

50 

15 

N 

14 

17 

30 

E 

Niagara 

Amer. 

Canada 

43 

4 

25 

N 

79 

7 

51 

W 

Nootka 

Amer. 

Pacific Oc. 

49 

36 

6 

N 

126 

42 

30 

W 

North Cape 

Europe 

Lapland 

71 

10 

0 

N 

25 

57 

0 

E 

Oporto 

Europe 

Portugal 

41 

10 

0 

N 

8 

22 

0 

W 

Oxford Observatory 

Europe 

England 

51 

45 

38 

N 

1 

15 

30 

W 

Paris Observatory 

Europe 

France 

48 

50 

14 

N 

2 

20 

0 

E 

Pekin 

Asia 

China 

39 

54 

13 

N 

116 

27 

30 

E 

Petersburgh 

Europe 

Russia 

59 

56 

23 

N 

30 

19 

0 

E 

Philadelphia 

Amer. 

Pennsylv’a 

39 

56 

55 

N 

75 

13 

30 W 

Plymouth G arisen 

Europe 

England 

50 

21 

22 

N 

5 

7 

24 


Poole Church 

Europe 

England 

50 

42 

50 

N 

1 

58 

55 

W 

PortlandLight House 

Europe 

England 

50 

31 

22 

N 

2 

26 

49 

W 

Portsmouth Church jEurope 

England 

50 

47 

27 

N 

1 

5 

57 

W 

Prague jEurope 

Bohemia 

50 

5 

47 

N 

14 

24 

0 

E 

















The Latitudes and Longitudes of Places. 311 


JVames of Places 

Cont. 

Sea or 

Country. 

Latitude. 

Longitude fr. 

Greenwich. 

Quebec 

Amer. 

1 

Canada 

0 

46 

/ 

47 

t // 

30 

N 

0 

71 

10 

fr 

0 

W 

Quito 

Amer. 

Peru 

0 

13 

17 

S 

77 

55 

0 


Ramsgate 

Europe 

England 

51 

19 

40 

N 

1 

24 

4 

E 

Rhodes 

Asia 

Archipel’go 

35 

27 

0 

N 

28 

45 

0 

E 

Rio Janeiro 

Amer. 

Brazil 

22 

54 

10 

S 

42 

43 

45 

W 

Rome 

Europe 

Italy 

41 

53 

54 

N 

12 

29 

15 

E 

Rotterdam 

Europe 

Holland 

51 

55 

58 

N 

4 

29 

0 

E 

Salisbury Spire 

Europe 

England 

51 

3 

49 

N 

1 

47 

0 

W 

Sancta Cruz 

Africa 

Teneriffe 

28 

27 

30 

N 

16 

16 

15 

W 

Scarborough Head 

Europe 

England 

54 

18 

0 

N 

0 

13 

0 

W 

Scilly Isles 

Europe 

Eng. Chan. 

49 

56 

0 

N 

6 

46 

0 

IV 

St. Sebastian, Cape 

Africa 

Madagasc. 

12 

30 

0 

S 

46 

25 

0 

E 

Senegal 

Africa 

Negroland 

15 

53 

0 

N 

16 

31 

30 

W 

Siam 

Asia 

India 

14 

20 

48 

N 

100 

50 

0 

E 

Southampton Spire 

Euroi^e 

England 

50 

93 

59 

N, 

1 

23 

56 

\V 

Stockholm 

Europe 

Sweden 

59 

20 

31 

N 

18 

3 

55 

E 

Stonehendge 

Europe 

[England 

51 

10 

44 

N 

1 

49 

8 

W 

Suez 

Africa 

Egypt 

29 

50 

0 

N 

33 

27 

0 

E 

Surat 

Asia 

India 

21 

19 

0 

N 

72 

22 

30 

E 

Teneriffe, Peak 

Africa 

Canaries 

28 

17 

0 

N 

16 

40 

0 

W 

Thule, Southern 

Amer. 

Sandwich I. 

59 

34 

0 

S 

27 

45 

0 

VV' 

Tobolsk! 

Asia 

Siberia 

58 

12 

30 

N 

68 

25 

0 

E 

Torbay 

Europe 

England 

50 

34 

0 

N 

3 

36 

0 

W 

Tornea 

Europe 

Sweden 

65 

50 

50 

N 

24 

12 

0 

E 

Trinidad 

Amer. 

Atl. Ocean 

20 

15 

0 

S 

126 

42 

0 

W 

Tripoli 

Africa 

Barbary 

32 

53 

40 

N 

13 

5 

15 

E 

Turin 

Europe 

Italy 

45 

4 

14 

N 

7 

40 

0 

E 

Upsal 

Europe 

Sweden 

59 

51 

50 

N 

17 

38 

45 

E 

Uraniburg 

Europe 

Denmark 

55 

54 

38 

■N 

12 

42 

44 

E 

Venice 

Europe 

Italy 

45 

46 

7 

N 

12 

22 

45 

E 

Verd, Cape 

Africa 

Negroland 

14 

43 

45 

N 

17 

30 

45 

W 

Versailles 

Europe 

France 

48 

48 

21 

N 

2 

7 

7 

E 

Vienna, Observatory 

Europe 

Hungary 

48 

12 

36 

N 

16 

16 

22 

E 

Wardhus 

Europe 

Lapland 

70 

22 

36 

N 

31 

6 

45 

E 

Warsaw 

Europe 

Poland 

42 

14 

28 

N 

21 

0 

0 

E 

Weymouth 

Europe 

England 

!52 

40 

0 

N 

2 

34 

0 

W 

York 

Europe 

England 

53 

59 

0 

N 

1 

6 

40 

W 

York, New 

Amer. 

N. York 

40 

40 

0 

N 

74 

11 

0 

W 

York minster 

Amer. 

Terra del F. 

55 

26 

20 

S 

70 

8 

0 

W 


N. B. For the purpose of drawing mathematically exact, it is ne¬ 
cessary that schools or preceptors provide a bow rule, commonly call¬ 
ed a shipwright’s drawing rule, sold at about half a guinea by all 
mathematical instrument makers ; and also a beam compabs, sold at 
a guinea or five and twenty shillings.. In drawing circles of very 
large radii, it will be found most convenient to wafer, or nail thepa- 
uer on any floor which is covered with smooth oil-cloth. 



















J. BABCOCK 8c SON, NEW-HAVEN, 


AND 


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BOOKSELLERS & STATIOJS'ERS, 


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4 


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